Having not thought about this before I would say that generally if I call someone a geek it’s because they are unusually passionate about something technical. For example, programming, electronic gadgets, planes or cars, but I don’t just mean a love of them I mean knowing all the parts, the names, the brands, the spec and the defects of each model and their eyes lighting up when they talk about the topic. I am aware that others classify a geek as someone/anyone who studies harder than them, but this is what I classified as a geek.
- A derogatory reference to a person obsessed with intellectual pursuits for their own sake, who is also deficient in most other human attributes so as to impair the person’s operation within society.
- A person who is interested in technology, especially computing and new media. Geeks are adept with computers, and use the term hacker in a positive way, though not all are hackers themselves.
- A person who relates academic subjects to the real world outside of academic studies; for example, using multivariate 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 passionately pursues skill (especially technical skill) and imagination, not mainstream social acceptance.
- 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 but because many of these interests have mainstream endorsement and acceptance, the inclusion of some genres as “geeky” is heavily debated. Persons have been labeled as or chosen to identify as physics geeks, mathematics geeks, engineering geeks, sci-fi geeks, computer geeks, various science geeks, movie and film geeks (cinephile), comic book geeks, theatre geeks, history geeks, music geeks, art geeks, philosophy geeks, literature geeks, historical reenactment geeks and roleplay geeks.
The first four points describe how I previously thought of a geek with the references to technical skills or pursuits, with the final point being more in tune with my new thinking, a geek is someone with an unusual depth or intensity of knowledge or passion for the subject of their interest, this can be any interest at all. This is closer to the definition from the Oxford English dictionary:
1. an unfashionable or socially inept person.
2. an obsessive enthusiast.
So with a brief investigation and an open mind I have changed my mental definition of a geek to mean an obsessive enthusiast and re-labelled most of my friends as geeks in one fell swoop!
Are you a geek?
