GeekStyle: No Answer is Also an Answer

Welcome to GeekStyle, a column that discusses the ins and outs of geek fashion. (Also read the previous GeekStyle) We are here to help you answer your style questions and provide you with some practical tips on what’s hip (and What is Not), for geeks.

First up, The Tip of the Week:

This weeks tip is about hats. Once upon a time no gentlemen could do without. You owned a suit, smoked cigarettes and wore hats. Those were the days that girls were still gals or dols and men were tough. Somewhere along the line we lost the necessity to wear hats. What happened? Why did we once needed hats and can now generally do without? Is it raining less? Does hairgel have anything to do with it? It is as much a mystery to us as it is to you. Fact is: wearing a hat these days puts you in the minority and that means any hat is also a statement: I wear a hat and I don’t care about your opinion!

So, as the stubborn and egotistical geeks we are it is perfectly fine to wear a hat. You can either go for the basebal cap adorned with buttons (don’t wear it backwards though!) or the comfortable fishing hat. Don’t wear a branded hat that says ‘Got it for free at a conference’ but invest in something high quality.

Don’t use it to mask your balding head! If you are balding just get it over with and shave the head.

Got no hair at all? Wear any hat you want!

Now, onto readers questions.

Our first question is by Ernst-Jan Pfauth who recently published his first book and is now bombarded with fanmail. He asks us “How do you deal with all those emails from people wanting to have lunch of coffee with you?”

You know what your inbox really is don’t you? It is a todo list that other people can fill. And they will. Relentlessly. Everybody expects you to reply to your email, and within a few hours too. You could do that, but it will drive you crazy.

My advice: learn to say no. Saying no is hard so consider this: imagine if you would email Bill Gates or Steve Jobs today with a request for lunch together. “Hey Steve/Bill, how about we get together for lunch next week to see how we can work together. I’m sure we can find something that will be beneficial to both of us”.

What will happen you think? Right, you won’t ever hear back from either of them, and thats fine. No answer is also an answer.

So remember this; if someone asks you a questions you can’t answer, or ask you for a favor you don’t want to fulfill, or suggest a meeting you don’t want to attend, feel free to just ignore it. Sure, some people will think you are arrogant and some others will assume an error on your part and email again. But over time they too will understand that No Answer is also An Answer.

Read the previous GeekStyle if you can’t get enough!

Yes, we do questions every week! Have a geek style question you want to have answered? Don’t want to bother your mother? Or maybe you have ‘a friend’ with an issue that needs answering? Just email GeekStyle or leave a comment.

Illustrations by Kiersten Essenpreis from Twaggies.com for TheNextWeb.com. Feel free to display the images on your own websites and blogs but please do link back to this post.