THE AGE OF THE GEEK

 

 

The flood of intellectual and technical advancement in the last 10 years has brought about a new social age and a new social category. The age of the Geek. A rapidly growing selection of people  who remove themselves from the waning norms of an outdated social structure.  A social order wearing Geek as a badge of honour and a symbol of pride and distinction. Long gone are the days when Geeks where grouped with the intellectual, but socially inept nerds. Being a Geek is a lifestyle choice embraced by those of a higher than average intellect who wish to retain their freedom to be themselves and behave in a fashion that is pleasing to them.

 

 

 

 

But what is a Geek? The word is thrown around so much now days that it is largely misunderstood by those who do not live under its flag.  Ten years ago the terms Geek and nerd were considered to be very much the same. A nerd was typically an intellectual academic that was socially inept and removed from the main stream. Geeks may indeed have risen from that social group, but risen to a point where they are removed and reformed into their own social category. They have spawned their own look and their own fashion, commonly termed Geek Chic. A new form of sexy that appeals to people who don’t spend their days banging rocks together.

 

 

 

 

 

The interests of Geeks generally tend towards science and technology, from computers to particle accelerators. Science fiction to science fact. A Geek knows the difference between the Higgs Boson and a Dilithium crystal. He knows the difference between the millennium Falcon and the Defiant. He knows the difference between a Core i7 and a Celeron. The women pasted up on his wall are adorned with metal armour from his favourite RPG. And he has a girlfriend. Not a sorry girlfriend, but a gorgeous girlfriend. Not only is Geek the new sexy, but many women have joined Geek society. Despite what the rock bashers may think, many women are embracing their intellectuality and would rather spend time with a guy who can string a meaningful sentence together than with a guy who drinks himself into oblivion, talks about how fast his car is, and falls over.

 

 

 

 

To burrow down to the core of what being a Geek is brings us to the explosion of the computer era. A Geek will own the most powerful computer that his budget allows. One night he can be found blasting his way through a virtual online environment and the next night writing code that can only be understood and appreciated by his peers. But on a larger scale, the clan of Geek hood is far broader. It is a rapidly growing social phenomenon with its own rules, habits and fashion. It is intellectual people coming out of the shadows and taking their elevated place in modern society.

 

 

 

 

 

So if your greatest achievement and claim to fame in high school was the fact that you could throw a ball really far, then I’m afraid that you are a relic of a past age. A dinosaur left behind by a world that has moved on. This is the time of the intellectual, but not as we used to know it. This is the time of the Geek. So if you are a rock basher who doesn’t understand this new evolution of social structure, please don’t look down on a Geek – I assure you, he is looking down on you with cool remorse and a shade of pity.

 

 

 

 

Being a Geek is enjoying the freedom to be yourself. It is liberating, motivating and competitive. It has no age and it has no gender. For those of us who have lived this life for many years, I say -at last. For the younger people, I say - enjoy it.

It's a good time to be a Geek.