How do you become a geek?

created by dwyn

(idea) by Illumina (1.9 wk) (print) ? (I like it!) Mon Apr 16 2001 at 20:28:54

Broadening the definition of Geek a bit here, I like to think a geek is any person so heavily wrapped up in their field of interest that they leave most mortals behind. Thus you can just as easily be a Geology geek as a computer geek. If the conversations you have with your colleagues are beyond the comprehension of 99% of humanity then you are a geek. You got that way by being intensely interested in something and learning as much as you can as fast as you can.

A word about computer geeks: Because our culture mistakenly attributes divine and inscrutable powers to computers, those of us who can command them are viewed with an awe disprortinate to the difficulty and complexity of our knowledge. Personally, I find the intense mathematics of the Quantum world not only more complex, but more important than writing a Linux driver for my Hitachi Magic Wand. Thus the computer geek is seen at the überGeek, the archetypal egghead.

Another way of deciding if you are a geek or not is if you get the jokes. As a computer geek I get why 2B || !2B is funny, just as a physics geek will get why "Poor Heisenberg, he knows exactly how fast his keys are moving!" is funny.

When I began to fancy myself a computer geek, I realized that, though I understood the computer part, I hadn't had enough exposure to the culture to really understand that. So I sat down and read the Jargon File cover to cover, multiple times (It still sits on the back of the toilet for idle perusal). Now, this was not motivated solely to "fit in" but I honestly found that reading about all thoise obscure concepts and historical minutae was fascinating. So I guess that would be another criterion for geekhood, if you revel in the trivia of your field as well as the important questions.

printable version
chaos

I'm not a geek, and I wish I were	Nerds, geeks and gender	What to do if you've got too many votes on your hands	Hitachi Magic Wand
The Jargon File	Screw this geek culture	Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance	Geek
Zen	How to be a geek	Summoning the Devil	There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy
Obfuscated C	Kung Fu stance descriptors	How do you know a girl wants to smooch?	Teach Yourself Scheme: 7.5 Loading files
Columbine High School	Riot nrrrd	Sleeping in a car parked on the side of the road	Car commercials that won't let you have any fun
They may take our car keys, but they'll never take our freedom	Fairytale of New York	Telnet commands	Leading causes of death among porn stars

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