That is why you will see Alexia Massalin, an engineer at Micro Unity widely heralded as a technical genius, giving and receiving piggyback rides and collecting stuffed koala bears. Chris DiBona , a marketing director for VA Research , includes in-depth descriptions of terrorist groups on his Web page. It's a nice conversation breaker. Ben Thornton , a programmer living in the Silicon Hills of Austin, Tex., brags about being a nude ham radio operator. Paul Gore, an assistant professor of psychology at Southern Illinois University , said techies had a predilection for prepubescent hobbies.
Studies show that an openness to new experience correlates with overall intelligence.
Some people might say these hobbies are 'juvenile,' but I see them as unconventional and very original. Thus, in Silicon Valley, midnight squirt-gun wars are not uncommon. But do not expect to fit in just because you take unicycle lessons, said Lynn Taylor, a vice president at the recruiting firm Robert Half International . But it doesn't necessarily hurt. Giving piggyback rides, for example, might not get you a job on Wall Street, but high-tech's mores are a bit different.