At What Point did You Know You Were a Geek?

Chris Pirillo Are You Looking to Buy a Graphics Tablet? How Young Were You When You Finished College? What Cola do Most Geeks Drink? Would You Like to Win a Free Microsoft Webcam?At What Point did You Know You Were a Geek?

Wow, not all but a few minutes after I did a post titled “Hi my name is Joe and I’m a geek” I see that you posted this on FriendFeed.

Sometimes the stars align just at the right moment.

Joe.

i knew i was a geek when my parents could not get me off the computer for 72 hours straight, all i did at the time was play online games, they brought me food and drink up but i never left the computer.

i tried to hide it from people, but as i got older i stopped caring what people thought of me and embraced it.

I’ve always been a geek and proud of it. :)

I’ve seen every Star Wars on opening day. I always did the extra credit for fun in school (ok, maybe sometimes because I was just plain bored). Knew all the words to all the popular Broadway musicals when I was a kid. Cried at the ending of “Revenge of the Nerds” – c’mon you know what I’m talking about. And so on and so forth…

I love that my geek passions make me who I am. Embrace what makes you strong, I always say.

When I was 9 and able to start programming on one of my friend’s VIC 20’s, then taking the manual home from a friend that owns a Spectrum ZX 128K and understood POKING and PEEKING. Funny this is, I was 21 before I owned my own first computer.

[...] At What Point did You Know You Were a Geek? [...]

Not really when I realized I was a geek, but when I realized that being a geek could be beneficial (I was a nerd since a very young age, and geek as a teen)…

– Finding out at college that I could make money as a teaching assistant teaching programming;

– Showing the MS Office instructor at a major corporation tricks and tips in Office;

– Being asked to show the center staff at that corporation how to use MS scheduling software (and becoming the bane of the HR manager who really, really liked her Franklin Planner)

For me, geekdom must be partially genetic – I proudly gave up my family Alpha-geek title to my 14 year-old nephew over a decade ago.

I’ve always been a nerd . . . I think I was certified as a geek when I put together the school’s computer music studio without ever having seen the equipment before.

Honestly, I can’t remember not being a geek but that doesn’t necessarily prove that I’ve always been one. So, let’s state the hypothesis that I have always been a geek and then set out to disprove it.

My first point of research is my mom, who has literally known me since I was born. She points out that she doesn’t remember me being anything other than a geek and lists these occurrences as empirical evidence to support the hypothesis:

a) When I was five, I was depressed and upset for several days after Christmas because I had received a toy rebel transport vehicle vs. the X-Wing Thai Fighter that I’d requested. Apparently my grandmother didn’t understand the difference.

b) When first introduced to hunting by my father, I showed almost no interest in tracking animals or in studying their patterns. i did, however, launch a study on the ballistics of several of our hunting rifles and the affects that changes in humidity and barometric pressure have upon trajectory and retained energy.

c) Since the first time I saw a computer, they have consumed my thoughts and dreams and I have seemed to quite literally be in pain when I’m more than 20 feet from one.

i will continue to research this hypothesis and provide updates as they become available, but at this point I am wondering if my geek timeline should begin at birth or conception…

Josh

I knew when I watched the entire “Call for Help Marathon” :)

Hmmmm

Was it when I was in Grammar school and used to play with the calculators at my dad’s work (this was in the days of the calculator with a separate lighted number for each digit)?

Or in Jr high when I took a computer class using an HP 1000 with cards that used a #2 pencil to create your Basic program (the computer was located at the high school so the teacher would take the cards – talk about batch processing)? Or using the PDP-11 the teacher got for a short time and programmed in Focal?

Or High School when I actually got to use the HP 1000 every day? My Mother was the teacher’s aid for the computer room. Once she created an program for kids to add up numbers. A bunch of us got together and chose the hardest problem with more than 50 numbers.

Or when I used to go to the MIT AI lab to play with the Turtle (LOGO) and use their modem to try to log into other computers?

Or College when I switched from Math to Engineering so I could take the computer class all my Engineering friends were having fun with, but instead of doing the punch cards like the rest used the virtual terminals connected to the CDC6400? We also played Trek for hours and on one night we could also play a multi-user version (before the internet and I didn’t pay attention to what they used to connect to the other computers).

Or how about the time some one in the remote terminal room asked for a calculator and I sat them down at a DEC 20 and showed them how to get into BASIC and use it as a calculator?

Or was it many years later when I got an IBM XT and upgraded the motherboard myself?

in 1982, when I read my first copy of PC magazine. John C. Dvorak was the one that I credit to bringing out my geekiness. Oh and knowing how to set a VCR clock was very handy. I am the IT and MIS manager for my dad and sister. And you are a geek if you know what those initials mean.
:D

When I turned down an invitation for coffee, meetups and so on from 3 girls at once because I couldnt get myself away from data-analysis on MATLAB.

It would have to be when I would fix friend’s and relative’s radios and cassette players in High School. But my I believe what launched it was computer math class in High School . Thank you, Mr. Schepis!!!

When I built my first computer

When I came out of my mother’s womb. :P

When I met the internet and I start doing websites and learning all the codes..

I did not realize I was a geek until a few weeks ago. A girl told me I was to geeky for her to date me haha. Ever since then I have come to realize that, I am a geek and I am proud of it!

When I started staying up until 6AM drinking nothing but Bawls and watching Chris Pirillo while programming servers and php. :-)

freshmen year, i baught my first computer. it was a semi decent compaq. I dont have much money, but i use what i got and can afford

when i started listening to the “woot-off” theme during a “woot-off” for the duration of the “woot-off” is when i realized that…im a geek!

lol, probably around 9 or 10 years old when I plugged a refrigerator switch into a wall outlet, while holding the push-button switch down, letting go of it blew out half the old style tube fuses in the house main.

I became a computer geek, after i finished high school, but before then i was sort of a mr know it all type, but all that knowledge has left me, I’m now a computer geek, some people even call me a science geek becuase of the high grade i got in my science GCSE’s, I’m sure it was a mistake, or im smarter than i realise

I knew I was a and geek when I assembled my first pc and cut myself trying to pt the heat sync on the processor and did not care because i considered it a “Geek Scar”

I guess I knew when I first cracked the case on my first PC which to put it in perspective cost me about 4 months pay…and was a 286 with DOS 3.1 – yeah I’m that old.

When I took apart my parents cinema system including surround sound and about 8 other devices (which had taken them a day to put together) and fixed all the broken bits and put it back together in under half an hour!
;-)

I would have to say I acknowledged my geekdom back during my freshman year of highschool when I started writing apps for my TI-83+SE to do all the hard and tedious work for me.

I knew that I was a “geek” when they coined that term for my
condition. Before that I was considered a “nerd.” “Nerd” is isn’t needed anymore these days because we have the preferred term, “geek.”

I’ve had many “geek awareness moments” in my life. In Spring 1977, when I had a student teacher that taught us Astronomy and suddenly I started reading all sorts of textbooks on Astronomy.
Again in 1977 when I saw Star Wars. It was a life-changing event for me.
In 1988 when I was a Senior in High School and I began arguing the best way to solve differential calculus problems. We were at a restaurant and requested that the waitress bring us more paper placemats so we could write more equations.
And the most recent one: About 5 minutes ago. My 3-year old son is playing with my old Organic Chemistry modeling set, and I just taught him the word “Molecule”. Just think of all the things he’ll need to talk with his therapist about in 15 years!

I knew when I found myself ripping out the inside of my computer to “fix” because Chris on Call for Help told me I could!! After that, my kids just thought I was a cool mom cause I “always get the best presents”.. all geeky of course!

Had to go into therapy when Chris left Tech TV. Everyone tells me that I am so good at puters but I never know enough. I want more more more. When time is my enemy when I am learning new stuff. When I stop breathing when my system crashes. Well used to crash.

Oh yea, i forgot to add, it’s never too late for somebody to find Their inner geek! I’ve only been one for 4 years.

I always new I was a Geek, from the entertaining evenings watching Star Trek (Orig. Series) with my Mother and always being told “You ask way too many questions!” To watching the Lunar Lander on the Moon and Later seeing the first George Lucas “Star Wars” film released when I was still in Grade School. Yes I strongly believed and may still, that “The Force” is with us all.

I went from magic trick kits to lab and chemical kits, to an inspiring artist that was into everything from pastels to painting and drawing and also charcoals.
Anything I could basically get my hands on that was anything to do with the arts and science, that was for me.
One of my favorite times as a child was when my parents purchased a full set of Britannica Encyclopedias and would sit and read various subjects for hours, much like I do with the Internet today.

Later and perhaps inspired by the encyclopedia subjects I became interested in Electronics and Digital was just beginning to hit the realm of most consumer electronics. Hence my adoration for gutting old televisions which later led to a computer fascination and learning all I could, there was many things to learn and I wanted to fit it all in.

High School and Vocational School led into many avenues of both electronics and digital computing and my career was well on its way.

Today I am still that young child with an eager mind seeking out information from almost any subject.
When I find something that interests me, I go all the way and am not satisfied until I have reached an understanding of what it was I was researching and perhaps even manipulate it into my every day life, doing so by manipulating the source to my or peoples benefit around me.

I now run a small business in the IT field and am amazed at the level of curiosity of young people, yet they behave as though there is nothing better than the Internet for learning resources, well, look around you and never forget there are many things that not only people near you can offer but many things that you yourself can also “dream up” and pursue into maybe an endeavor such as research or development. Maybe, you are the next George Lucas, astronaut, scientist or teacher.

The world is full of Geeks now and I love it, there is more today than I could have ever hoped for, regardless of my child hood daydreams of a “Star Trek” like existence on this planet, who knows maybe we are more there than not.

AbblePC

When I first saw the Saturday Night Live skit “Nick Burns, Your Company’s Computer Guy,” and realized how much I empathized with that character.

“Move!!”

http://www.hulu.com/watch/19050/saturday-night-live-nick-burns

I knew I was a geek in 1993 when I started using a computer every day.. I was five.

In grade school, when I new more about the class rooms Commodore 64 then the teacher. It didn’t hurt that I wrote my first program in on the C64 when I was 6.

I basic always knew that i was a geek, But since i have been watching Chris I am know proud to express it.

You know, I’m not sure. I kind of realized this slowly over time. There has been many moments that drive home my geekieness. Yesterday I was in video production class (most people where in there because it was the only open class). Some people had headsets on and some one said that somebody kept breathing into the mic. I said “that’s what all the noobs do online,” then silence….followed by awkwardness.

I think i was in denial for a while, until one day as a friend of mine sat next to me at my work bench while I mixed up a good speed ball. He looked around at a sea of circuit boards and perfectly organized components and said ” You’re just a really big geek aren’t you.”

Ever since then I have come to realize that I in fact am a GEEK!

I knew that I was a geek the first time I used a computer. It was a revelation.

I first new i was a geek when i was very young. When my parents bought me my first computer. I just couldn’t get enough of it. I used to spend hours at a time on it studying how it worked and run. Technology has been a passion of mine ever since and i just can’t imagine my life without it.

Now since I’m a High Schooler, I remember this perfectly. This is a really good question too, Chris. Glad you posted this.

I was around 3-5 years old (from what my parents tell me). And, I can say that I loved to fiddle around with many devices. Especially with the VCR, stereo, or our old Gateway computer…

Now, from what my family tells me, I knew how to work a remote control, a VCR, and a computer at a very young age. This is probably around 1997.

Then around 1st grade, I started using computers more often, and I started going around with our “High Speed Dial-Up connection”, and looked around. I can remember that sound while it was connecting to the internet…

This was all with Windows 95, under that old Gateway. I believe it was a Pentium II (~333MHz), with 64mb of RAM. That computer is really old, that I can barely remember it. I didn’t understand all of that stuff at that young of an age.

As I started growing up, I started learning the “advanced” functions of Windows. I started learning the registry, MSConfig (in Windows XP, when that came out), services, and just modifying it in general.

Around 12 years old, I was interested in Web Design. So I started learning HTML. I was learning it all on my own, with the help of FrontPage 2002. Then when I was 13, I started learning about the Unix world. OS X, Linux, Solaris… All of them. I was reading a lot about them. Then around a month later, I made the switch to Ubuntu Linux; and I’ve used that ever since.

To this very day, when I’m 15, I’m programming in more advanced languages like PHP, CSS (not really a program language, but you still type it), HTML, Java Script + Java (they are different!), GTK++ (Linux), Visual Basic (Windows), and a bit of C++ (many Windows + mobile devices).

I started developing graphics when I was 14 in Adobe Photoshop. And I can say I love graphic designing. I don’t release much of my art, but it’s something I love, and I’m pretty skilled at it! I’m using a bit of Blender (CAD) also.

When I was in around 4th grade I’ve received my first PDA. It was a Compaq H3765, with a blazing fast (just kidding :D) 206MHz processor with 32mb of RAM, Windows Mobile 2002, and a 320×240 touch screen. I used that until 6/3/2006. Exact date… That’s when I received my Dell Axim X51v. Currently, it’s a PDA that’s running a WM6 ROM (because Dell never created one, so people started creating them; you can call them ROM cookers), and it’s been my PDA ever since. It has 128MB of RAM (upgraded that), 256MB of internal memory, 624MHz processor, and a VGA screen. It’s a awesome PDA. It’s still fast, even till this day.

I’ve been a geek for my whole life; and I plan on keeping it! Seeing how technology advances is amazing. But, as it advances, the more money it takes out of my pocket. And I buy a lot of the expensive stuff on my own (mainly technology).

To this day I’m a expert in Windows, Linux, and OS X. And with the PDA world also. I beta test for several people, and I enjoy what I do. I post videos up on YouTube to share my knowledge (with the help of http://tjasko.com); and it’s a lot of fun to do.

I know that was long, but it’s the story on how I am a geek :)

Geek-out!

i was around 4 or 5 when my dad bought me my own tool set and the first thing i did was take apart all my RC car and try to see what make them run. i remember i could not get the first two back together but practice make perfect, as i got older, i try to fix things more, then break them.

The first week after I got my own PC.

I knew i was a geek back when I got my first mobile phone (back in 2004). I started saving up money to buy better phones, talking tech jargons. Then one thing led to another until I am what I am today..

There was not a moment…it was more of a realization over time. It became apparent when I was talking about things that other people didn’t really care about. For instance, mentioning another movie a director has made (well, movies are more in the mainstream anyhow), talking about the influence of comic books on movies, my favorite sci-fi movie or PKD book, or just “geeking out” over some new gadget…that’s when it became apparent.

When my father purchased our first Windows Machine, it was an Aptiva 530 (don’t ask me what the specs were). I got into computers then, but I didn’t know a whole lot. I enjoyed using Windows and liked the setup and I wanted to know more about it. I didn’t do a whole lot of fiddling as I was growing up because I tending to mess up a program or two…or nine. Then when I got my own PC, I was a little more flexible and more confident. I think at that point is when I became a true geek. I still have the PC that I received (specs on my geeks page) and I enjoy finding out more and more about technology everyday. :-)

I thik I knew I was a Geek when I got my laptop and after the first week of having it I was on it all the time, it was crazy because my family were yelling at me to get off it and spend time with the family.

I think I really realized how geeky I am when I started to do little projects on my computer, fixing things, or just learning how to do different geeky things. I would get all excited and tell my friends or family about my latest project and they either wouldn’t understand what I was talking about or they would show know interest hehe.

When the hours I was online more than doubled the hours that I was offline. It sounds short, but it’s totally true.

I think it was when I realized that I’d rather keep the score in HS basketball, versus playing.

I become a geek the day i first entered 7′th grade at my middle school. This is becuase i was curious about computers and how they worked and how the performed, so in order to know how to work on a computer, i took a class about keyboarding. This class basically told me how to work a keyboard and how to type quicker. Next class i took was computer fundamentals which i took in 9th grade and it was the easiest class i took becuase i know how programming was affecting the program.
It is when i did this class i knew about being what a geek was.

The knowledge of being a geek sure felt different but it came with bad stuff too, but i wish not to explain them. My latest geekynes was to join the geeks,pirillo.com and help out the community on there as well. I have been very active on geeks and have created groups and great discussions on the website as well for people to comment and see. So yeah these are the things i have done to be and feel geeky in the live.pirillo.com community and in my past. I hope to become more of a geek as I become more older and mature.

I have always thought myself geeky throught my life. When I found out what type of geek I was in the 7th grade. So my computer geek vocab has expanded alot since then.

When I feel in love with LOTR

When I feel in love with LOTR and the age of 11

I think it was in college, when I was around people with the same interest as me.

When at my sons School open house and the tech teacher was explaining the CISCO class to the parents and I saw them all with this lost look on there face. I then in the form of a question asked if this is what he was saying and the teacher said yes and the parents understood as I knew how to explain it in plain language and yet understood the tech jargon. the teacher then brought me to the side and told me that I should look into writing manuals for the masses as he has never seen such a clear plain language interpretation

I think it would have to be once my friend and I started going to the recycling center to take parts from the computer bin to build spare parts. It seems like it was almost yesterday, o0o wait I think it was…. :)

Shortly after I learned my IQ score was 136.

Right after I learned my IQ score was 137.

When my friend and I would discuss how badly we would go aboard the Millennium Falcon, if Chewy, and Han would fly by and ask us to go! We always said we would go in a heart beat!

When I bookmarked chris.pirillo.com in all four of my web browsers =].

I just realized that I was a geek during my third year of college. I was hanging out with some friends and one of them called me a “geek” for knowing some trivia about Star Trek. It all of a sudden hit me and I thought to myself, “Wow… I am a geek.” But that’s not when my “geekness” started. I’ve pretty much been a geek my entire life. It started when my grandfather got me and my siblings an Atari and… to save you from a rant about my life story… the rest is history.

My general geekiness extends back to my early childhood, including the apparently abnormal realisation (at the age of about 5) that it was necessary for there to be some kind of linkage from the steering wheel of a car to its front wheels, whereupon i assumed a pinion gear driving a rack gear (terms that i didn’t learn untill much later) was the most straightforward way to do it.

My computer geekiness began around the age of 12, (1977) when i wrote my first little nothing program (in Integer BASIC on Walter Wright’s Apple II—not even Plus) and realised that i could make the machine do anything that i could explain to it. It struck me as an electronic equivalent of Lego blocks and Erector sets—more evidence of a geeky childhood.

It didn’t immediately sink in that these things made me a weirdo; but the normal people made that clear, soon enough. I suppose the real test of my geekiness was that i liked thinking and technology too much to give it up for popularity.

I’ve come to realise that all technology throughout history, from spacecraft to the wheel, has come from people who were not normal—people whose minds worked differently from the majority who never thought beyond carry and drag, untill the weirdos gave them something better. (And they treated them like dirt for being weirdos, even after.) [Stick that in your cell-phones and smoke it, ungrateful fashionable people!] ;)