Geek Apologetics Part 2: Why Geeks Live Longer Than Everyone Else

DIY clock made from analog meters. A geek did this.

The reason geeks may live longer than everyone else is that they are happy. They are happy because they have found something they can spend hours and hours interacting with, thinking about and talking about. One of the best characteristics of geeks is their positivity with respect to their area of geekdom. 

Science geeks really like weird discoveries and will spend hours sharing their opinions and these (often times pointless) cool thoughts with others until their spouses have to apologize for their conversational monopolistic behaviors and shut them up so that others can talk about more important things like politics, the weather and children. Science fiction geeks may enjoy getting together with like minded people and talking about how truly relevant Start Trek episodes are (sometimes in Klingon, which may be one of the signs that you are closing in on the post-geek catergory called FANATIC), how deep down inside they are Browncoats (and further proving it by citing libertarian dogma in Chinese), or how The Matrix was really a Gnostic-Buddhist interpretation of reality and that one day we’ll be able to upload this truth into your mind so that you can understand too. Do-it-yourself technology geeks love to build machines in their basements and garages that people have already invented and that you can already buy at Walmart for a tenth the price and time (of course these are the people you probably want to live next door to when western civilization comes crashing down). In the end, one of the defining characteristics of geeks is that they are happy when they are interacting with whatever it is that excites them.

Why does happiness matter? According to many studies (like this one), happy people in healthy populations live longer than unhappy people. Happiness doesn’t necessarily cure disease, but it may have disease preventative benefits. It probably also has positive effects on stress management, heart health and helps people maintain fit minds. 

If being a geek makes someone happy, it is likely healthier for them to stay a geek. 

Being a beer geek might have extra benefits. If one is a beer geek who drinks moderately (1-2 brews a day for men, 1 for women) it is possible that besides just happiness, a person may have some of the added health benefits that moderate beer enjoyment may afford, such as decreased risk for heart issues (check out this Harvard article) and, later in life, decreased risk of dementia (check out this Forbes article).

So, raise a pint glass to your local ale enthusiast. Enjoy their homebrew (they’ll likely share if you show an interest in their brewing techniques) and perhaps you’ll take one step towards becoming a healthy beer geek yourself.