The Meerkat Q&A, Question Six: Why Are So Many Meerkats Involved in Engineering?
This is the question asked of me by Syd Roo, over at Blue Sky. Full confession, I have no idea! In general terms, the furry community is heavily active in coding, information technology and other computing fields. This has something to do with the origins of online spaces for furries, where there is a significant overlap with members of the LGBT community.
It also seems that furries are generally intelligent, highly-educated individuals (I guess that makes me the exception, hah!), earning degrees in computer-related fields. There’s a large art/creative community within the furry fandom too, with a number of websites devoted to creating and sharing artwork, music and stories. Both the technical and creative elements of the fandom involve problem-solving skills and attention to detail, so if furries are indeed collectively intelligent, it makes sense that they would highly active in engineering and related fields.
To put it another way, a lot of furries are quite geeky. I know I certainly am! Between the geek factor, the drive to create safe spaces for marginalised elements of the fandom, and the generally good education and pursuit of detail-orientated activities, it makes sense that furries are involved in technical fields.
Now, as to meerkats in particular, I don’t know. I am not a technically-minded meerkat, though to give me my due, I am a creative meerkat, having written sci-fi books. Is the meerkat personality rooted in technical and computing skill even more than any other? I’m not even sure how I’d find that out! Speaking for the meerkats I know, I think we’re a creative bunch, but beyond that? No idea. Meerkats are rare within the fandom, so there maybe isn’t enough info to go on.
Of course, this is a cop-out answer. I wish I could offer a more definitive one. All I can do is fall back on the furry fandom in general. As a whole, there’s a lot of smarts, as it were, and a keen interest in technology, along with some driven imaginations.
Syd, hopefully that answers your question, at least a little bit!
‘Kat Comments