I Don't Know Everything

I stand adjusted on the definition of "wonky," as pointed out by a co-worker. The word "wonk" is defined by Merriam Webster's online dictionary as:

a person preoccupied with arcane details or procedures in a specialized field; broadly : NERD: "a policy wonk," "a computer wonk"

If we disregard the British slang (a term meaning unstable or awray), then wonky as defined above may very well fit the stereotype of archivists. Unsteady or obsessive-compulsive, I fully admit that either definition will do!

Wonky. It's Just a Popular Word These Days

My dad asked a good question: What is the wonky type? Maureen Dowd described the archivist as the wonky type, albeit probably without ever having met one. I checked out the definition, and here's what dictionary.com had to say:

wonky (adj):
1. (British Slang) shaky, groggy or unsteady;
or unreliable, not trustworthy
2. stupid, boring, unattractive

I don't think Maureen Dowd was going for the 2nd definition, or even the second half of the first definition. But in relation to "shaky, groggy or unsteady," there exists a stereotype that record keepers are unhappy, like Bartleby of Melville's story called "Bartleby the Scribner" who got sent to the Dead Letter Office as a eternal punishment for his obsessive stubbornness and his unwillingness to adapt to modern office life. Aside from being stereotyped as outmoded, perhaps we also share a bit of the mad scientist's instability. Let me explain: archivists are charged with preserving "history," or preserving for the "sake of history." We do live up to that stereotype because we believe we are also somehow also preserving "the truth." That's a lot of pressure--I'm thinking that is a good place to couch a psychological unsteadiness. Alas, since post-modern academia and the Bush administration has proven that there is no "truth," archivists can lay aside their fears of being sent to the Dead Letter Office and again sleep at night.