Anthropologists are always N00bs
Yesterday I found myself introduced to a brand new online community of people. As common as this community is, it’s completely foreign to me from the topics they talk about to the language abbreviations they use. Then I realize here I am again, the n00b.
Though most look down on the rank of n00b, it’s perhaps the most valuable position in a new group. Why? Well, everything is new! You have no preconceptions of how it should be, you question everything, and you are able to provide insights on things that those who’ve been around a while just take for granted. Being a n00b means there are no expectations of you, and really when you’re learning all you can this is exactly where you want to be. People are more willing to forgive mistakes, to answer questions, and to be just overall helpful.
So the next time you’re new, appreciate the fact you’re a n00b. It’s the best place for an anthropologist to be!
January 31, 2012 @ 8:33 am
Yeap. “Marginal natives”.
March 27, 2012 @ 9:16 pm
Hah! I love that as a enlightened thought on the subject — in fact, when I saw the phrase, “Anthropologists are always noobs,” I found myself smiling.
It’s so true. After all, how better to get a good ethnographic survey of a new culture than to walk in and start absorbing? In fat, I spend most of my time looking for new experiences and the things that I haven’t seen yet about every community I join. How else does one discover how acculturation or cultural understanding happens without first wandering right out of the limits into the middle.
Also: Noobs are always being trained my veterans. They’re the best-possible-people for the people who have been around the longest to pass on all the things that make their culture work.