Are Geeks Cool?
Community member Roshan Patel asks a great question:
The perpetual stereotype of your standard “Geek” was always bad. From the sweaty appearance, bad hair and nocturnal tendencies all really made us Geeks lose out in most things. We were always the guys that would sit around a desk talking about how the new version of Safari compares to those previous, instead of what we did over the weekend.
But I pose this question: Are Geeks Cool?
I was in a Psychology lesson one day, nothing really interesting to shout about, when one student asked the teacher if he knew of a method that could get a recorded file from home to play on the school system. I was simply astounded by the responses! One person suggested media conversion websites, another suggested free programs, and others mentioned Codecs! These were people that were deemed to be “non-PC” in a stereotypical view, but they were genuine “Tech-Heads!” We spent the whole lesson talking about tech, and every student made a contribution in one way or another.
Looking at the facts, I suppose the evidence does support the growing number of Geeks in school and workplace environments. As we become more technologically dependent, more people will have knowledge on more Tech, or Tech related items, and therefore, will produce more Geeks. We are finally winning the “Coolness” battle in my opinion, and even the most “down-to-earth” individuals will eventually accept the idea that Geeks are Cool!
No doubt, we’re cool – always have been, always will be. However, it’s not our knowledge that makes us cool – it’s our passion FOR that knowledge. That’s what makes us geeky – and that’s what makes anybody a potential geek, even if their affinity is not quite tech-related. There are wine geeks, baseball geeks, quilting geeks, and shoe geeks to boot (no pun intended).
So, are YOU a geek? I mean YOU, the person who is reading this particular piece of content?
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10 Comments
MLB8 - Today’s baseball news
March 19th, 2008
at 10:08am
GoNintendo – What are you waiting for?wrote an interesting post today on Here’s a quick excerpt Community member Roshan Patel asks a great question: The perpetual stereotype of your standard “Geek” was always bad. From the sweaty appearance, bad hair and nocturnal tendencies all
Kraig
March 19th, 2008
at 2:21am
By definition, I argue that “geek” cannot be mainstream and, therefore, cannot be cool. The entire point of being a geek is that you have a knowledge of a particular subject that is deeper than that your average person (this can be generalized to all interests; not just tech). If you have dove deep into the technicalities of some subject, and you realize that others (in mainstream society) have caught up, then you must push your inner geek further; lest you risk losing your geekdom altogether.
zenrhe
March 19th, 2008
at 5:15am
I’ve always believed geeks are cool.
But i most strongly agree that it is the Passion that is important. In what i call the geek ladder, i must say i feel like i am on the bottom rung. When i’m around anyone who is even mildy geeky, they always rank higher than me. I only feel more like a geek when i’m around ppl who are just basic computer users who get a confused look on their face when you alt+tab, or minimise all the windows with one shortcut. The other week I pulled out a usb sd reader pen to gasps and confusion, not just at the device, but also the fact that i happened to always have it in my handbag. They said ’so i take it your a geek then’.
The fact i can baffle people when i talk about podcasts (im completely fed up of having to tell people what they are, and they still dont get why i listen to them) drives me nuts. Geeks need other geeks arounds to get the best from it.
But as you said, Passion. It doesnt matter how much someone knows about a certain topic – being a geek is totally about loving a subject, feeling great knowing and learning things about it and happy to be surrounded about it. The ability to launch into conversation with a random, with others thinking your speaking a different language, brings great pleasure. Passion lights up the brain and makes life sparkle.
TeddGCM
March 19th, 2008
at 5:28am
Ahhh the Geeks have come into their own! When I was growing up and in school Geeks were the people that were ridiculed, beaten up and laughed at (ala Revenge of the Nerds). I was one of them. Today Geeks are considered cool, have girlfriends (what?!) and looked up to. How did we do it? Technology has become the standard in all our lives, and those who understand it and can manipulate it are considered a valuable part of society. The Jocks of yeasteryear are now flipping burgers at your local fast food place, remembering the “good ol’ days” when they beat up the likes of us, while we invent auto-ordering machines to put them out of work. GEEKS FTW!
Howard Pinsky
March 19th, 2008
at 5:29am
Oh yes, I’m a geek! Proud to be one too!
Luke Wallace
March 19th, 2008
at 6:19am
Oh yeah, big geek. But I’m cool with that., even if everyone else isn’t.
HKDKAT
March 19th, 2008
at 9:18am
I am a geek! Yesterday one of my co-workers, a fellow geek, said “Well you’ll do that because you’re a big ‘ol nerd!” I said, “No, I’m a geek and proud of it!”
peteo
March 20th, 2008
at 5:47am
Kraig is correct. By definition, a geek cannot be part of the mainstream. And if you need to affirm that you are cool, then you are not. Sorry.
zenrhe
March 24th, 2008
at 9:34am
But then things that used to be totally geeky are becoming more mainstream…so how can you say you cant be a geek if something is mainstream, the geeks may have been there first!
BJ McKnight
September 25th, 2008
at 10:23pm
I personally see no reason why a geek cannot be considered cool. Not all geeks dress in geeky clothes and wear glasses. It all depends how you choose to act and appear. I consider myself a geek and i do not act or dress any different than anyone else, with the exception of talking about technology.