Do you own a slide rule?
What is up with the Geek Stereotype? It used to be you were a geek if you had thick glasses and knew your way around Star Trek: the Original Series.
Now, everyone’s a geek. We all hang out online, Sudoku has gone mainstream, there’s even something called “the technosexual”
What makes you a geek? Maybe you’re proficient at Linux, or you can name all of the elements of the periodic table in alphabetical order? (OK- you do not need to be that hardcore—winning at scrabble counts as a geek tendency)
Post your comments and we’ll use them on the show.
What made me a huge geek in high school…drama, an interest in computers, political action, RPG gaming, a love of science fiction…now make me a cool high school teacher. Like most geek teachers, I finally became popular when I went back to school!
When I attended college in the 1980s, then the fact that I was a physics major qualified me for “geek” status, although in that Jurassic era the term “geek” had not yet acquired its silicon (valley) shimmer. After all, one of our classes featured an ongoing self-directed assignment to build a little heathkit computer, with wires, solder and everything. Never mind that I was actually taking a bachelor of arts degree in physics, with a secondary study area in English literature. An English professor assigned me to give a brief talk on the Second Law of Thermodynamics. My classmates heard my brief explanation of roughly third grade science as if I had imparted a complex theory from on high, with new implications for their future academic/literary lives. It was more than “mere” geekdom–it was like being a priest for the Tao of Physics.
Times changed. Now one cannot properly be a geek without speaking computer languages beyond the Fortran and simple Basic of yore. I have only a few weblogs, and I lack a Second Life avatar. I have no indie comic book subscriptions, and can build no robots. My love for the Logo programming language turtle is no longer cutting-edge theory to liberate humankind for a computer age, but instead hobby love similar to loving a 1964 Ford Falcon. When I record music with synthesizers for free distribution, I’m no longer a tape exchange geek pioneer–I’m of all things “a Creative Commoner”.
I remember when I was a geek. Then I knew who I was. But now? I know what I am no longer technologically savvy enough to be.
But I did learn one thing in my physics degree, apart from how to hold the average dinner party conversation about the Second Law of Thermodynamics. I learned long ago that when a compact fluorescent bulb breaks, try to leave the room without breathing in the metals.
I am an attorney, who, seven years ago, passed the patent bar after fifteen years of “mere” law practice. I use my patent knowledge for things other than prosecuting patents, but pulling out the “I’m also a patent lawyer” in the average dinner conversation
almost gives me a virtual badge of courage as cool as last year’s most geeky spectacles on the most attractive twenty eight year old Ph.D. in any given room.
I live my middle-age trying to reconcile the fact that the thing I was always looked down upon at 22 for being is now considered the thing to be, but my geek savvy has receded much more swiftly than the imperceptible movements of my hairline.
I’ve had a few conversations with people trying to figure out what the difference is between ‘geek’ and ‘nerd’. One distinction is that people seem quite happy, generally, to consider themselves geeks, but we don’t really embrace our inner nerd in the same way.
Wikipedia says: The word geek is a slang term, noting individuals as “a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, especially one who is perceived to be overly intellectual”
I know my way around Star Trek, Dr. Who (and Torchwood), and Battlestar Gallactica (Old and new series), and “Big Bang Theory” but don’t think that is what makes me a geek.
I get paid as a technical expert administering Internet servers, and started as a teen in the 1980s designing and building my own computers, but don’t think that is what makes me a geek.
Probably the thing that gets me labels me as a geek is when I mix together technology and law, and being interested in where they intersect. Not only do I not fit in with regular party conversation with “normal people”, but I also stick out with both traditional technical geeks as well as legal and policy wonks.
My wife asks me to talk about Digital Copyright when she wants to be put to sleep, given it all sounds like “blah blah blah” to her and I could go on for hours.
Oh, well
I don’t really agree with that wikipedia definition. I think, as with Russell’s technology-and-law example, that it’s all about people whose interests are very niche-y, rather than necessarily excessively intellectual.
The wikipedia quote “dislikable person” is almost offencive. Has wikipedia ever considered that maybe I just don’t like them?
I always think of the “geek” moniker to be more technology and electronic related. Nerd could encompass some of the geek description but also branches out to a person with very high intelligence who isn’t as advanced socially.
All joking aside I consider myself to be a geek because of my interest in computers, technology, science fiction and video games. But I think the reason that the definition of geek is changing or changed is because most of those things have gone mainstream.
In the 1980′s things like computers and playing games were on the fringe and the masses didn’t understand them so they created a sense of dislike for the geeks who enjoyed these activities.
Flash forward to today and you’ll find that being on the internet, playing video games and having a handy pocket sized gadget is something that a major percentage of people do. Society has moved forward to require things like use of cell phones and email just to work day to day.
Now being able to check your email, use a mp3 player or snap a photo with your picture phone doesn’t make you a geek. In today’s world a title like geek is reserved for those who are at the extreme of those interests. Like those who build their own computer and maybe use open source software that they also contribute to.
Hopefully that all made some sort of sense. I’m a terrible writer but theres only one way to improve.
When I think of geeks, I think of Steve Erkil from the TV show “Family Matters” or Screech Powers from “Saved by the Bell.” What made these guys geeks?
They were techy. They wore funny clothes. The were completely inept with the opposite sex.
But, I think most importantly, they were high school boys. High school boys (and girls) are one of two things: geeks or cool. And, I think this divide still exists in the world today. If you are playing World of Warcraft on a Friday night and not getting drunk before a school dance, you are a geek.
But, as everyone discovers, the real world doesn’t lump you into two categories. We lump you into a million different categories: Republican, Democrat, white, black, educated, poor, rich, have, have not, etc.
The Internet furthermore has allowed people with niche intelligences to find other people that share that interest. They form networks. They play games together. They find out that roleplaying Lord of the Rings inspired games is not geeky.
I think we are losing the term geek as our virtual communities open up to include the whole world. Afterall, a large enough population and you are bound to find another weirdo.
Unfortunately, high schoolers are still screwed because you have to play in a really small community.
I’m not a geek because I use technology. Everyone uses the technology of their day, indeed, successful technology becomes invisible to us as technology.
I’m not a geek because I’m proficient with technology. I am proficient with tech, but so are more and more of us as more and more jobs and activities require that proficiency.
I would say I’m a geek because I care, passionately, about technology. I have an opinion about how technology should evolve, and about how certain aspects of computers are poorly designed. I’m a geek because I have an opinion about a lot of the minutia of tech. I want to improve them.
I’m a geek because my husband and I talk about operating system design in bed with the lights out.
I am definitely a geek. After all, what other fourteen-year-olds run linux, and can run it on any machine from there flash drive?
Interesting that you mention Black geeks not being represented in popular culture. One of the items we're doing on our next show, about geek stereotypes, deals with this. One of the critiques our guest, Raafi Rivero, makes is that when Black characters are shown who ARE nerds/geeks, they are not generally shown as expressing Black culture….as though geekiness is equated with 'acting white' if not being white. Hope you'll check it out!
And why does it seem we never see any black geeks represented in pop culture?
How about Steve Urkle? Mmmmm?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Urkel
I was a definite outcast in elementary and high school. My soft spoken personality, love of linguistics and foreign music didn’t quite fit in with the stereotype of a black girl, with a finger-snapping attitude and hip hop blasting from her headphones. For years, I quietly hid my desire to spend my weekends reading about places like Iceland and Uzbekistan.
My first backpacking trip to Europe, I was in love with traveling. I remember another backpacker, a very flamboyant, and very friendly, gay white male saying to me “It’s so nice to see a black person backpacking!”. It was then that it really struck me that I hadn’t seen any other black people backpacking, exploring the world and its people. I continue to think deeply about how this impacts black youth and the communities they live in, and why aren’t we encouraged to see the world.
Before I left for Europe my father said, “Why do you want to go there anyway? You know they don’t like black people.”
Today, I actively pursue my love of languages and culture, studying ethnic dance forms, languages and pursuing a degree in international economics. If I’m a geek for doing something beyond what is expected of me, than I’ll be a geek for life.
I think that black geeks are not depicted more widely because not many black geeks are influencing what’s widely depicted. As a black geek married to a black man who would probably say that he had “strong geek tendencies”, I can definitely tell you that we’re out there. That said, we continually seem to shock people when we pop into certain comic book shoppes or podcasting meet-ups because I think that some people are a little surprised that we may defy some elements of a more pervasive stereotype.
I came by my geekiness honestly — I’ve gone through high school being labelled as a “browner” for getting A’s and, by grade 9, I can remember feeling self-conscious about academic achievement and I didn’t feel like sticking out more than I already did. These days, I’ve come full circle and I am proud to embrace my inner geek by admitting that I love Heroes, Doctor Who, Torchwood, Superman, building web sites, playing chess… and listening to the CBC.
Hey Dax,
I really love that idea of gaining the confidence to embrace the inner geek….especially the CBC Radio bit! I wonder how much pop culture has to do with it: Heroes embraces geek chic today. When I was a kid, the major nerd-cool quotient of British new wave definitely gave some cred to geeks.
I’m still in high school and i think that to be considered a geek, you need to be a brown noser and do extremely well in every classes. Also, a lot of people have learned to embrace their inner geek which seems to make them cool. a lot of nerds are considered extremely cool. it’s become so bad that people are actually competing for money with their teams in “proffesional” video game sports. lol
I’m still in high school and i think that to be considered a geek, you need to be a brown noser and do extremely well in every classes. Also, a lot of people have learned to embrace their inner geek which seems to make them cool. a lot of nerds are considered extremely cool. it’s become so bad that people are actually competing for money with their teams in “proffesional” video game sports. lol
I think that the term “geek” has a lot broader usage than people here are giving it credit for. It is not just about technology or science fiction. A geek is just someone who is passionate to an extreme about something. After all, it is possible to be a music geek, a movie geek, etc. That is why people are proud to be geeks. What this topic really seems to be referring to is the term nerds, which has the negative connotations and the definitions of which can include “unnattractive”, and “socially awkward”. I have had this conversation with friends on a number of occasions as we are all proud to be geeks but would be uncomfortable if we were referred to as nerds. I also think that people with stereotypical tendencies, such as a love of Star Wars, Star Trek, World of Warcraft, etc. but who may not look like the stereotype consider themselves geeks but would be offended by being called a nerd.
I’m still in high school and i think that to be considered a geek, you need to be a brown noser and do extremely well in every classes. Also, a lot of people have learned to embrace their inner geek which seems to make them cool. a lot of nerds are considered extremely cool. it’s become so bad that people are actually competing for money with their teams in “proffesional” video game sports. lol
Hi Matt,
I, for one, use “geek” and “nerd” interchangeably. So do most of my friends. One of my favorite catchphrases when someone calls me on my science fiction fandom is: “I’m a nerd and I’m proud!”
Besides — does splitting hairs on the geek/nerd semantic debate really make much of a difference outside of high school?
I am fascinated by the changing meaning of the word “geek”. I am still trying to determine whether its connotations are changing because our culture has come to admire, or at least tolerate, intelligentce and social ineptitude, or if “geek” has simply broadened to include peole who would not truly have been considered geeks in the past.
It seems that intelligence is beginning to be valued more, but I am doubtful that social ineptitude is tolerated more than it once was.
My suspicion is that a lot of peole who I would never call a geek now proudly declare their geekiness. The question, if I am right: is this good or bad for the socially shunned geek?
I’ve read the definition on http://www.wikipedia.org. I do agree that over time the definition changed due to our perceptions.
Back in my senior years in high-school around 1985 I enrolled in a typing class. There was actually a room in the school with these hugh mechanical typewriters. 2 people in the neighborhood had home computers (presumably with no more than 64k memory). They were the first I could remember to actually communicate with each other electronically via a computer modem. I often thought of these people as being geek (someone who seemed to be light-years ahead of the rest of us).
Today, most people have E-mail address(es) and are computer literate in some way. So I wouldn’t think of people who use computers regularly as being geek.
But there are some who are more gadget oriented. They carry portable organizers and other devices such as Blackberries around. In the car they rely on GPS for trips across town. I would consider these people geeks. But once portable devices becomes more common place like carrying your wallet around, I wouldn’t consider them geeks any more.
I use a computer regularly. Checks my bank statements, E-mails online and does freelance web-design work for companies. I carry a laptop around but don’t consider myself a geek because I don’t carry other portable devices around besides a portable phone.
Seen on a T-shirt some years ago:
If you want to see the people who called you a geek in high school, go buy a hamburger.
Yep, lots of people are into the tech stuff (video games, TV, state of the art cell phones)…. But does this really make them ‘geeky’?
I think the word geek/nerd would have to encompass other necessary elements such as intellect, ability to think critically, and have a health enjoyment of sci-fi classics (e.g. Star Trek), etc…
Otherwise, they’re mere ‘consumers’…
looking at the cbc website and this topic. I laughed when panning right i see my picture. It was almost the same picture…minus glasses. Is this proof enough Im a geek?
pp
I’m a total geek. Always have been. I have an interesting in knowing detailed socially useless information.
I’m also a lifetime gamer. From Atari, Intellivision, NES, Super NES, Gameboy, SEGA, Gamecube, etc. Now my gaming is mostly PC based. The social aspect being much fun. Favourite gaming types are FPS and MMO.
I’ve been around online from the time that all gaming chars were men. I had to hide in a male character. Now there are much more women in gaming which is fun to see. But to this day, my voice on a server will prompt someone to freak out (most recently countered with my comment of “keep your hands on the keyboard”).
g33k 4ever.
—–BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK—–
GIT d? s+:++>+ a C++> UB+++>++++ P L+ E- W++ N+ o? K w— O
M+ V PS++ PE- Y+ PGP>+ t 5+ X– R- tv- b+>++ DI+++ D G+ e*>+
h—- r+++ y++++
——END GEEK CODE BLOCK——
Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a winner!
/me grins
I rolled mine by hand of course, but a handy tool for the novice is a Geek Code decoder.
I wonder whether I still have that English paper I wrote on geekdom…
I agree that the geek and nerd factors that existed when I was growing up have been assimilated by mainstream society.
Growing up, I lived as a geek. I was a very early adopter of computers and the internet. In fact, I was having trouble in school until my family got a computer in grade 5. My reading level went from Garfield to Lord of the Rings in that year.
With the computer, digital worlds and societies were in reach. I dove deep into the whole experience. BBS surfing via dial-up evolved into my current three computers four monitor setup that I use today.
However, my self given title of Ubergeek comes from my willingness to embrace technology and fantasy. I surround myself elements of fiction and fantasy. Games, movies and novels all offer a taste of other peoples dreams that then fuel my own.
That fuel drives me into deeper and greater reaches of geekhood. I work as a computer tech, I have been trained to be a 3d animator and I dream of being a digital creator one day.
To be a geek it is more then using technology, one must have a passion for it. An urge to feel the flow of electrons around you. To be an ubergeek like myself, you must surrender yourself to those dreams and the goals that mean.