It’s no secret that a minor theme of this blog is all things geeky… RPGs and Dming being the main subject of my Geeky blogging.
Last Friday, Math arrived home and showed his new iPod Touch to my wife Alex. Of course, she went bonkers over it and Math, laughing, came downstrais to join us, telling me that my wife was such a geek.
He’s quite right, she’s not a gamer, but she’s definitively a geek.
That being said, in my mind, geekery is like leadership, it’s hard to define but it’s easy to recognize when seen.
The word “Geek” has no clear equivalent in French, and up to just now, I had never checked for a definition.
My non-definition of geek used to be:
- A Nerd who’s lost his/her virginty.
Not very helpful, but accurate in the sense that geeks are often seen as more socially apt than nerds.
The Urban Dictionary as a lot of definitions for geek, most of which I disagree with. The 7th one is close to what I define as a geek:
- Someone who spends a lot of time and energy in a certain area, not necessarily computers or technology
Wikipedia has one closer to my tastes:
- 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.
This definition hits close to home. By that definition, I’m a RPG, gaming, movie, literature/writing, Internet and computers geek. My wife is a movie, TV, literature, music, health, environmental and computer geek.
Where the definition breaks down is the ‘mainstream’ part. This basically means that a football fan is not a geek… sports being too mainstream…
But I believe that a sports fan that knows all about stats, schedules and rumours would definitively register as a geek to me.
Actually, I think the key part of the definition is:
“a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream”
It’s the devotion, the energy poured into this that generates geekery (geekism?), not the subject.
I think geeks are more of a personality trait…. the object of the devotion/obsession/passion is unimportant. The mere fact that one can focus so much energy in a single subject while still remaining accessible socially as a human being defines a geek.
What do you think, what would be your definition of the geek and what is the object of your devotion?
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I disagree with some of the characterization of ‘geek’ based on the definitions you’ve found.
From interacting with you for a while now I would say that you are most definitely not a computer geek because you’re not too far from “mainstream” in that respect.
However, you are most definitely an RPG geek and *that* sir is what I look I for at chattydm.net. Your level of knowledge and interest and devotion and loss of sleep and non-embarrassment to discuss the topic ad-naseum and benefit the sphere of influence you have in this area to all who will listen clearly indicates you are an RPG geek. It’s an obsession.
Of course, we’re here listening and learning because you’re passionate and devoted at a level that people like me will never hope to attain, but I admire and respect it.
For some of the other subjects (literature, movies, etc…) you list, is it possible that you more closely fit the definition of aficionado: (from Merriam-Webster) “a person who likes, knows about, and appreciates a usually fervently pursued interest or activity”.
A supplement to the geek definition you provide might be “…a person often of an intellectual bent who may be disliked for being outside mainstream but is clearly an expert enthusiast of a specific topic”.
Good topic Phil.
Check out this poster: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottjohnson/2086153791/
Crap! I’m a D&D geek, a computer geek, AND a sports geek? I thought sports protected me from overwhelming geekism.
Thanks for the high praise Andy!
Touché for the computer…. although a few years ago I was. I just haven’t kept up (which probably means that geeks can drift also).
Agreed on aficionado. I’m more of a troper (looking at a show’s tropes) than a rabid fan of actual shows/books/movies.
Good answer Andy! But then again, maybe I was baiting you.. 🙂
Oh and cool poster!
Yax: You can’t escape it… at least we’re good looking geeks! 🙂
I think the problem with the given definition is that “mainstream” tends to change.
For example, once upon a time, the internet was most definitely deep dark geekness that could only be achieved with thick glasses, a beard and a pipe. Now, it’s technologically on a par with the mashine machine; every home has one.
Ditto for trains, cars, sci-fi and superheroes (not every home has a superhero, but bear with me here). They’ve all become mainstream; in a way, we’ve all become geeks.
Yet at the same time there’s definitely still geeks around in all those genres. So maybe you’re right; it’s the enthusiasm and level or immersion which defines the geeks, not the “mainstreamness” of the subject.
Heck, I know food geeks. And food is definitely mainstream. We’d be dead, otherwise 🙂
Greywulf hit the nail on the head wrt mainstream. E.g., my wife is not a computer geek, she’s a total newbie, but even with her limited understanding of the topic of computers and the ‘net, in 1980 or 1990, she would be looked upon as a geek if she had that same knowledge because it was an esoteric subject.
One major thing that has changed wrt ‘being a geek’ is that today it’s worn as a badge of honor at best, at worst it’s not considered a derogatory comment. Hmm, as i typed that I wonder if the last statement is true or if it’s just because I live, work, hangout with other geeks and that you’re average joe may still look at me as a lessor person because of the geekiness.
I think there’s a certain amount of ageism to being described as a geek too. At least I know when I try to picture ‘geek’ it’s someone relatively young (<40 certainly, probably younger), but that could be because I tend to link geekiness with computers to a certain extent.
As far geekiness being worn with pride….I think it probably depends on where & when you are. And probably who too. Isn’t that specific of me 🙂
Are there levels of geekness, or is it just a yea/nay situation? Assuming levels I’d call myself something of a computer, RPG, and animal geek, but a definite book and word geek 😀 Unless we’re talking circus geek, in which case I’ve got nothin’ 😀
“at worst it’s not considered a derogatory comment”
I think that geeks such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Nathalie Portman have paved the way for geek acceptance.
Another big point I think is that Geeks of a given topic tend to aggregate and form communities that reinforce the feeling of acceptance…. it’s a lot easier being non-mainstream when so many other share your passion. The Internet made it more so….
As for the negative perception of the word geek…
Well it depends on the individual and his definition for it.
The definition given by Chatty is as good as it gets but is not universal like he said every dictionary had their own version of it. Now spread this to every single individual, most of them has not taken the time to verify the exact meaning of the word, and you’ve got a pretty loose definition.
I’m a programmer, by definition we are computer geeks. As I was discussing with one of my colleague it became apparent that he did not share my definition of the word as his perception of geek was of an insult.
Which does not come as a surprise. Language being a living thing most people have a loose definition in their head for a given word, which was put together by the contests in which they heard it. They will rarely(if ever) take the time to look it up in a dictionary.
I believe I summed up my thoughts nicely…