geek

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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".^[1] Formerly, the term referred to a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken, bat or snake. The 1976 edition of the American Heritage Dictionary included only the definition regarding geek shows. The popular saying that geeks are mentally challenged in various ways.

The definition of geek

The definition of geek has changed considerably over time, and there is no definite meaning. The social and rather derogatory connotations of the word make it particularly difficult to define. A definition common among self-identified geeks is: "one who is primarily motivated by passion," indicating somebody whose reasoning and decision making is always first and foremost based on his/her passions rather than things like financial reward or social acceptance. Geeks do not see the typical "geeky" interests as merely interesting, but as objects of passionate devotion. The idea that the pursuit of personal passions should be the fundamental driving force to all decisions could be considered the most basic shared tenet among geeks of all varieties. Geeks consider such pursuits to be their own defining characteristic.^{[citation needed]}

• A person who is interested in technology, especially computing and new media. Comparable with the classic definition of hacker.
• A person who relates academic subjects to the real world outside of academic studies — for example, using multi-variable calculus to determine how they should correctly optimize the dimensions of a pan to bake a cake.
• A person who has chosen concentration rather than conformity; one who pursues skill (especially technical skill) and imagination, not mainstream social acceptance. Geeks usually have a strong case of neophilia (a love of novelty and new things). Most geeks are adept with computers and treat "hacker" as a term of respect, but not all are hackers themselves — and some who actually are hackers normally call themselves geeks anyway, because they regard "hacker" as a label that should be bestowed by others rather than self-assumed.
• A person with a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream. This could be due to the intensity, depth, or subject of their interest. This definition is very broad, and allows for mathematics geeks, engineering geeks, sci-fi geeks, computer geeks, various science geeks, movie and film geeks (cinephile), comics geeks, theatre geeks, history geeks, gamer geeks, music geeks, art geeks, SCA geeks, literature geeks.
• G.E.E.K., as an acronym, reputedly came from the United States Military; it stands for General Electrical Engineering Knowledge. It is likely a backronym.
• A derogatory term for one with low social skills, regardless of intelligence.
• A performer at a carnival who swallows various live animals and bugs.
• A person who rejects society, yet is involved in it — unlike and in contrast to a hermit. (This is generally used to also mean someone with high intelligence.)
• Natasha Chen Christensen quotes Julie Smith: "a bright young man turned inward, poorly socialized, who felt so little kinship with his own planet that he routinely traveled to the ones invented by his favorite authors, who thought of that secret, dreamy place his computer took him to as cyberspace -- somewhere exciting, a place more real than his own life, a land he could conquer, not a drab teenager's room in his parents' house."^[2]
• Words such as nerd and dork are similar to the word "geek", but carry different connotations. It could be said that the particular interests of nerds are of practical nature (like math, physics, astronomy), while those of geeks are often considered trivial but entertaining.

Reclaiming and self-identification

While being described as a geek tends to be an insult, the term has recently become more complementary, or even a badge of honor, within particular fields and subcultures. This is particularly evident in the technical disciplines, where the term is now more of a compliment denoting extraordinary skill. Geeks are growing in popularity. There is an increasing number of people who self-identify with the term, even when they are nontechnical or do not fit the classic geek archetype. ^{[citation needed]}

Geek Pride Day (Día del orgullo friki) is observed every May 25 in Spain since 2006. The holiday tries to reivindicate the right of every person to be nerdy or geeky and to express it in public without shame (note that the definition of Spanish "friki" can be slightly different from geek or nerd).

The website BoardGameGeek is an online community of boardgamers who identify themselves as "Geeks" at game conventions and call their Website "The Geek", for short.

Computer support services such as the Geek Squad and Dial-a-Geek use the term "geek" to signify helpful technical ability to mainstream consumers.

Nontechnical

Because "geek" is no longer purely pejorative, there are many self-labeled geeks who disagree on the use of the label. Others are the opposite and try to make a point of their being. At the same time, many older geeks in whatever field of devotion become upset when their field becomes popular and wish to set up standards that exclude late adopters or whole subjects of interest as not being truly "geeky." While in the past the dispute would not have been over use of the term "geek," this is not a new phenomenon by any means. There were loud disagreements in the 1960s and 1970s among science fiction fans over the use of "sci-fi" or "science fiction", with some science fiction geeks trying to get "sci-fi" to be only used for what they defined as bad science fiction. Later, there were fierce debates among geeks over the use of "hacker" or "cracker" and the adoption of "leet speak" by less technically advanced computer users.

Today, geeks devoted to technical pursuits want to distinguish themselves from people they see as falsely holding themselves out to be intellectuals. Many style themselves as geeks due to an interest in liberal arts and entertainment subjects which may be approached casually as opposed to techie subjects which require vast amounts of serious study and commitment.

Many teenage and college students adopt the stereotypical outward traits of geeks in order to fit in with the so-called geek subculture. It has been observed that many of the classic eccentricities associated with geeks has been due to their social awkwardness and were thus naturally occurring instead of contrived behavior. However, in the recent decade, many geeks have cultivated for themselves a number of behavioral traits that one sports as an indication of being "in the know" and "out of the mainstream". These range from geek humor and obscure references to T-shirts sporting references to geek culture or interests ("All Your Base Are Belong To Us" being one example). Also, many adults, a good number of them in geek oriented professions, cultivate personality quirks and eccentricities in an effort to appear more interesting or inject humor into their persona as geeks are classically perceived as quiet, pedantic, and introverted. The most recent trend is the imitation of the dry humor and droll dialogue exhibited by the characters on television shows such as the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation franchise.

While technical geeks are grudgingly acknowledged for being absorbed in a craft that at least has real life career potential, it is often argued that while not impossible, genre geeks who aspire to a profession in that genre (for example comic book artists and writers) are more likely to face the scenario where many are called but few are chosen. Nonetheless, the derogatory definition of geeks remains popularized as that of a person engrossed in his area of interest at the cost of social skills, personal hygiene, and the classic general responsibilities of adulthood such as having a steady job and one's own place to live. One of the widely perceived criticisms among geeks, whether their geekiness stems from career choice or extracurricular activities, is the widespread notion that they need to get a life.^{[citation needed]}

Elements of the slacker culture have merged with the geek culture particularly because of the wider availability of consumer-based pop culture and entertainment in contrast to previous decades. The characters Jay and Silent Bob of Kevin Smith's Jersey movies are examples of self-styled geeks who are adept at absorbing geek canon but not particularly intelligent, educated, or otherwise productive.

The so-called geek chic trend is a deliberate affectation of geek or nerd traits as a fashion statement. The most visible example are horn rimmed glasses and the adoption of geek canon. With respect to fashion, it is debatable as to how much borrowing is actually from the geek stereotype as most of the visual geek image has evolved from either their widely perceived lack of interest in personal appearance and hygiene or an overly academic outward appearance. Consequently, a significant amount of geek chic exponents rather typically represent an eclectic borrowing from other fashions including punk, hippie, goth, emo, neopagan, hipster, indie, gay subculture, and bohemianism. Variations of this representation are typically seen in the self styled girl geeks. ^{[citation needed]}.

Sites over the internet can be attributed to distancing the word geek from meaning 'nerd'. Sites like http://stopgeek.com who not only concentrate on publishing geek content, but to posting everything and anything someone would find interesting.

Entertainment

Geeks have gained a cult status, and some TV programs have cashed in on this image.

• In 2005 and 2006, the former WB Television Network (now The CW) ran a reality game show called Beauty and the Geek, where "geeks" try to share their knowledge with "beauties" while trying to learn a modern style from them. The show returned in January of 2007.
• Comedy Central ran a game show named Beat the Geeks from 2001 to 2002. It featured contestants competing against a movie geek, television geek, and a music geek, along with a special fourth geek. The fourth geek would have a certain area of expertise such as Star Wars, The Simpsons, horror, Star Trek, and comic books.
• The IT Crowd, produced by Channel 4, focuses on the shenanigans of a three-person IT support team located in a dingy, untidy and unkempt basement. Moss and Roy, the two technicians, are portrayed as socially inept geeks, while Jen, the newest member of the team, is hopelessly non-technical.
• The show Freaks and Geeks explores the social conundrum of new students adapting to existing social norms.
• Planet Nerd is a variety show for and about nerds and geeks.
• Nerdapalooza is a planned geek music festival.
• Geek Monthly is a recently launched lifestyle magazine, to be published six times a year in the United States of America by CFQ Media. The magazine is positioned in the marketplace as a more "fanboy" version of established magazines such as Wired and EW as well as the discontinued Gear. The first issue featured Rainn Wilson on the cover in a James Bond pose, whilst features included that of Sci-Fi, Lifestyle and Woody Allen.

References

1. ^ Dictionary: Geek. Dictionary.com-Merriam-Webster entry. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
2. ^ Natasha Chen Christensen quoting Julie Smith on geeks

See also

Geek subtypes/qualities

External links

• Geek Culture: The Third Counter-Culture, an article discussing geek culture as a new kind of counter-culture.
• http://www.geekstudies.org/, blog following an ethnographic study of geeks and geek culture.
• Blog: For New Geek A blog for the wanabe-a-geek!
• http://www.geekworld.co.za/ A South African based geek-related blog. If it's geek related, we talk about it!

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