Salt Lake City Geek Culture? (Nephi: apartment, credit, college)

[Port Pitt Ash]

For someplace that always seems to be viewed as a conservative place full of Mormons I'm surprised the Geek/Nerd culture is so robust.

Comic Con 120,000+, FanXperience 100,000+, Fantasy Con 30,000+, Gaming Con 20,000+, Furries, My Little Pony, Steam Punk, FilmQuest, and so on.

Not to mention Sundance nearby.

How did this happen? What makes SLC such a great place for geeks of all stripes?

[Geo-Aggie]

Imagine growing up in a culture where college parties consist of getting together with your church group to watch Monty Python and play Just Dance on the Wii. A culture where courting consists of you and a group of your 20-something friends go out to a public place and have a scavenger hunt or get together at a same-gender apartment to play Settlers of Catan until 2AM while you drink Mountain Dew. Imagine that you're 26 and you've never been to a bar, smoked weed or had sex (except that one time that you really really regret and try not to think about anymore).

What you're imagining is an accurate representation of young adult-hood for about 60% of Utahans.

Utah culture tends to oppress 18-30 year old singles into still acting like they're 14-17. So things like comic books, sci-fi, cosplay and general nerd culture, which are all totally acceptable, are very popular among that group. It's not wrong, I love Star Trek, board games and cosplay - but that's why. It's one of the few acceptable outlets for a large majority of the single population in Utah.

[UTES]

It's no coincidence. The Wasatch Front is very technology-oriented. In fact, it's got one of the highest ownership rates of computers in the USA.

And, the dominant culture (read: LDS) promotes knowledge through the Sciences. It's ironic but practical. For, good business and financial success is revered - as it is measured on a Protestant scale.

(D&C) 93:36, “The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.”

Bill

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by UTES

It's no coincidence. The Wasatch Front is very technology-oriented. In fact, it's got one of the highest ownership rates of computers in the USA.

And, the dominant culture (read: LDS) promotes knowledge through the Sciences. It's ironic but practical. For, good business and financial success is revered - as it is measured on a Protestant scale.

(D&C) 93:36, “The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.”

Bill

I never really gave it all that much thought, but your explanation does make a lot of sense.

[Chango]

Why is Utah geek culture so robust? Because Utah not-geek culture sucks!

[UTES]

The LDS approach is linked to Calvinism - wherein there's no shame in reaching out to Science and profit. For, it's believed successes and advances serve mankind. One could easily credit the Protestant revolution - but Jews already integrated these concepts much earlier.

Bill

[Port Pitt Ash]

Originally Posted by Geo-Aggie

Imagine growing up in a culture where college parties consist of getting together with your church group to watch Monty Python and play Just Dance on the Wii. A culture where courting consists of you and a group of your 20-something friends go out to a public place and have a scavenger hunt or get together at a same-gender apartment to play Settlers of Catan until 2AM while you drink Mountain Dew. Imagine that you're 26 and you've never been to a bar, smoked weed or had sex (except that one time that you really really regret and try not to think about anymore).

What you're imagining is an accurate representation of young adult-hood for about 60% of Utahans.

Utah culture tends to oppress 18-30 year old singles into still acting like they're 14-17. So things like comic books, sci-fi, cosplay and general nerd culture, which are all totally acceptable, are very popular among that group. It's not wrong, I love Star Trek, board games and cosplay - but that's why. It's one of the few acceptable outlets for a large majority of the single population in Utah.

Well, I guess say what you want about Mormons, but unlike other religions it sounds like they aren't actively trying to suppress geek-like stuff.

Only place that completely accepted this stuff where I've lived was the PacNW. Even Ohio with a few large conventions it was more of a fringe activity that's not really accepted by many people at all. In NC the only thing that seems to be tolerated is video game players.

[Geo-Aggie]

Originally Posted by UTES

The LDS approach is linked to Calvinism - wherein there's no shame in reaching out to Science and profit. For, it's believed successes and advances serve mankind. One could easily credit the Protestant revolution - but Jews already integrated these concepts much earlier.

Bill

Unless the science says Native Americans came from Asia about 15,000 years ago, there were no horses, wheels or elephants in Pre-Columbian/Post-Pleistocene America, no flood ever covered the globe or that there was no death on Earth before the first human fell. I will say that Mormonism does embrace technology better than many orthodox Christian religions, but I wouldn't say they really embrace science, unless the science confirms what they already believe. Culturally speaking many do embrace it. I highly doubt Mormon posters here believe in the flood, Nephite Chariots or the lack of dinosaurs - but doctrinally speaking that's Mormonism.

The embrace of technology definitely plays into the nerd culture, but I still think we can't overstate the tendency of Mormon young adults to be behaviorally kept as teenagers, until they have a family, as part of it. My Mormon friends in Utah were all nerds and all loved board games and conventions. If I tried to get my non-Mormon friends to come over for a night of Dominion or Settlers, they kind of cringed and countered with going out for pub trivia (which is still pretty geeky in its own right). The time we all went out for a space ship simulator - literally every person there was a practicing Mormon, except me. Which is cool and I realize is only anecdotal data, but that's my experience.

I know I'm often critical of Mormonism, but this is not a critique. I am a massive nerd. Seriously I've read like 200 Star Trek novels and my son is named after my favorite scientist (Well, second favorite - my wife wouldn't agree to Galileo, and in retrospect this is probably a good thing). I miss the nerd culture, in Utah. I wish more people everywhere loved both pub trivia and space ship simulators

[Port Pitt Ash]

Originally Posted by Geo-Aggie

I miss the nerd culture, in Utah.

Are you speaking personally or has the nerd culture lessened in recent times?

I guess what I find interesting is Mormonism allowing a lot of things in the geeky realm that many other religions find outright blasphemous.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Originally Posted by Port Pitt Ash

Are you speaking personally or has the nerd culture lessened in recent times?

...............................

He moved out of state.