What Type Of Geek Are You!?

Hello everyone!

As I sit here and ponder, life, the universe and all sorts of stuff, I've come to the conclusion that almost everyone is some kind of geek!


 This is www.dictionary.com's definition of a geek:

Insert cock joke here...

 1. a computer expert or enthusiast (a term of pride as self-reference, but often considered offensive when used by outsiders.) 

2. a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, especially one who is perceived to be overly intellectual.

3. a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, such as biting off the head of a live chicken. 

Now, if you're anything like me, you probably think that the third definition is amazing!  Again, if you're anything like me, you still haven't read the first two because you were instantly drawn to 'biting off the head of a live chicken'.  Finally, if you really are anything like me, you know at least two people for whom definition number three is spot on!

As you can see from the above definitions, you shouldn't necessarily trust the internet when trying to make a point!  (All you students take note!  This is what happens when you're lazy!)  The Oxford Dictionary Online defines it as "an unfashionable or socially inept person." which is a little bit more like the norm, when you recall the stereotypical image of a geek.  At least, that's what you'd think!  I put it to you though that this view is mistaken or at the very least blurred!


You see, society and technology have conspired to turn us all into geeks to some degree or another, not to mention the fact that as the Information Age slouches ever forward, we come to rely more and more on our smart phones, pc's and tablets.  Of course, those people who were early adopters of this new technology, indeed, those whose very imaginations inspired them become the ones who lead the field.  As the saying goes "In the kingdom of the blind, the one eyed man is king" or to put it another way "The Geek has inherited the earth"!  Sorry, couldn't resist that last one.  My point is this; saying that a geek is "an unfashionable or socially inept person." is incorrect these days.

We are all geeks.  If you're reading this on a laptop right now, having been redirected from Facebook, that's geeky.  If you're reading this while you wait for the latest episode of Fringe to download, that's geeky too.  If you're reading this while waiting for your Quantum Physics experiment to finish and are wearing a Starfleet uniform and singing Klingon opera at the same time, well, Live Long and Prosper you shiny bastion of geekiness!  Still don't believe you're a geek?  Here's my own list of the three types of geek.  Where do you fit in?

1) The Creative Geek

Felicia Day: Creative, geeky, lovely!

You can recognise a Creative Geek by the way they speak and/or dress as well as by the way they react (or don't react) to the world around them.  They have a tendency to use flamboyant words or turns of phrase, and some of the things they come out with can have you reaching for a dictionary, just to see if it's actually a word! (It usually always is!).  They dress however they want to pretty much, without much of a care given to popular style or even decade appropriateness.  They are pretty much the stereotypical 'student types'.  Creative Geeks tend to be outgoing, social creatures with occasionally large, but always fragile egos.  It's because of the brittle nature of these egos that they can (like a lot of other geeks) come across as shy or socially inept  They are whimsical creatures, prone to flights of fancy and daydreaming who can be flying amongst rainbows one moment only to find their good mood ruined; at which point, Dante's trip through hell could not compare with the tragedy they feel!  Creative Geeks are passionate and fierce.  They believe life to be for living and know instinctively that the world will never understand them, but they love it anyway

2) The Science Geek

Steve Jobs: Science-y, geeky, dead

Science geeks are well known to everyone.  They are the type of geek most heavily stereotyped and, have recently captured the publics' attention because of the very funny sitcom The Big Bang Theory.  A Science Geek also has a distinctive way of speaking and dressing.  Similar to the Creative Geek, they don't dress to appease latest styles or to conform.  A Science Geek will usually dress for comfort or in whatever is available and doesn't distract too much from whatever horrifically complex mathematics is spiralling through their head.  If this sounds like a bad cliche, that's because it is!  It only is a cliche though because of how much this kind of thing happens!  I've known a few Science Geeks (and some who have blurred the lines between geek types) and they really couldn't care about the world around them because they are far too consumed with whatever 'thing' they're working on.  Be this building a time machine or splicing their neighbours dog with a spider, they are just as passionate as the Creative Geek and just as fierce.  They are also equally socially inept and misunderstood by the world at large.  You should love your Science Geeks though; their lack of social skills and obsession brought about whatever technological device you're reading this on right now!  True fact!

3) The Sporty Geek

Jessica Ennis: Sporty, possibly not geeky, lovely!

While you may think that sport and physical exercise have as much to do with geeks as fire does to ice, you'd be mistaken!  For there exists a much overlooked geek type, probably because they spend a lot of their time training and less time tweeting/facebooking how much the world misunderstands them.  I speak of course, about the Sporty Geek.  You can tell a Sporty Geek from the tracksuits they seem to have permanently attached to their (admittedly impressive) frames.  Of the three geek archetypes, the Sporty Geek is the quietest of the three.  This is not because they are less passionate or less fierce than the others, far from it.  Sporty Geeks are some of the most driven and focused people you will meet.  They tend to be the quietest because theirs is a world of 'put up or shut up', a world where the only thing that matters is how you perform in the field/ring/box/whatever.  The other two archetypes are much more theory based and thus can afford to be more abstract.  And shouty.

So there you have it, my idea of what the three main geek archetypes are!  Don't get me wrong, I am aware there are more than these three.  For instance, crossovers and amalgamations of them all exist out there somewhere, but I only have a limited attention span and I'm aware that you guys do too!  So, have you decided which geek you are?  Maybe you're a crossover?  Maybe you think there should be more archetypes?  Leave a comment and let me know!

For the record, I'm a Creative Geek.  You knew that though, right? ;-)


Until next time!


Kenny!