While reading some comments on a travel forum, I came across a thread in which the question posed was about metal detecting at a certain location. One commentator responded that the person wouldn’t find anything and that the general consensus on the forum is that this individual would look like a dork metal detecting. This caused me to reflect on the metal detecting hobby and some of the perceptions that are portrayed in the media or expressed by individuals who have never even investigated the hobby.
There have been some times when I have had some teenagers ask me if I have found anything and then snicker at me for looking for money. I have often wondered if they truly believe that because I metal detect, I am poor and as a result, I use a metal detector to search for money. This is ironic considering the cost of metal detectors these days reaches into the thousands of dollars. Anyways, back to the dork persona.
I find it fascinating that people would view an ordinary person wearing ordinary clothes holding a thing in his or her hand as looking like a dork when an ordinary person wearing ordinary clothes holding a thing in his or her hand catching fish seems normal. Maybe, if metal detectorists painted their faces, had an over-sized foam hand, and jumped around and screamed at their machine every time it made a squeek, then perhaps they would truly look like dorks. Interestingly, this is how some people I know behave when watching a sports game. Who is the dork here?
Perhaps, a metal detectorist would look more normal walking around in wrestling spandex. If someone unacquainted with sports were to see some of the sports fanatics out there and then saw someone metal detecting, who would be perceived as the bigger dork–the blue colored hollering fan or the detectorist minding his own business. Now, I am not trying to bash on sports. I have been to several different sports events and they are fun. My point is that before we label others as dorks for doing something we might not be familiar with, we better make sure that we ourselves don’t look or act like dorks.
Those who never give this hobby the time of day will never understand the fact that much of the excitement is in the hoping for a good target as you search. As I continue to buy new equipment and gear, I am not sure that I will reap any huge financial gain from this hobby, unless it is mostly by chance. Most times I am happy to break even. It is a very rewarding hobby that gets me out doors and lets me make some exciting finds from time to time.