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The Geek Shall Inherit the Earth

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the and-jennifer-garner-shall-be-our-queen dept.

erick99 writes "With so many self-proclaimed geeks here at Slashdot, this particular article concerning geeks seems fitting. The article covers the gamut from science fiction to comic books to the "mainstreaming of geeks." The author seems to conclude the it is not such a good idea that the geek may inherit the earth. But, hey, what does he know. "

11 of 336 comments (clear)

  1. Revenge of the Nerds... by garcia · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Matrix, comics, and computer, sheesh! It's Revenge of the Nerds that brought geekdom to its pinnacle!

    Everyone now realizes the difference between nerds and geeks. Geeks are the cool nerds!

    Now, if we could only get the hot women...

  2. The meek geek by Ckwop+Johnson · · Score: 5, Funny

    "The internet often breeds individuation and solipsism" Yes.. let's blame the internet for every social evil! Si.

  3. Re:Somebody get a dictionary? by r4bb1t · · Score: 5, Informative

    Courtesy of UrbanDictionary.com:

    anorak
    1. Cagoul; or a hooded zip-up jacket.
    2. Trainspotters.
    3. IT people in general, computer geeks.

    Beware of couples wearing matching anoraks.
    Often spotted at LAN parties.

    I'm still trying to figure out whether or not being compared to a warm, puffy coat is a good thing.

  4. scary... by spangineer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    That's pretty scary considering Merriam Webster's first definition of "geek":

    "a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake"
    "Geek"

    1. Re:scary... by Sri+Lumpa · · Score: 5, Funny


      When your job is outsourced to India we will see what way you come up with to both feed yourself and pay the rent.

      --
      "The obvious mathematical breakthrough would be development of an easy way to factor large prime numbers." Bill Gates,
  5. notion of a mainstream geek is an oxymoron by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As geek contains within in a notion of separateness and awkwardsness, the whole notion of a mainstream geek is an oxymoron.

    I suspect the author was just out to get a bit of cash or notorioty.

  6. Not a good idea? by Mateito · · Score: 5, Funny
    The author seems to conclude the it is not such a good idea that the geek may inherit the earth.

    This guy obviously didn't get the universal truth as portrayed in "Revenge of the Nerds".. that inside every geek is an automaton of burning passion powering a pile-driving love machine.

    So why the fuck shouldn't we rule the earth?

    --
    Norman Cook's Ode to Sl
  7. Trendy by Triv · · Score: 5, Interesting

    See, here in NYC, geekdom has become...trendy. It's now cool to know tons about comic books, to be an IP wizard, to be able to pull odd things from teh intarweb. If you're a mac geek, you're even better off.

    The problem with this is the fucking hipsters of the geek wannabe persuasion. They manage to effectively mimic geek behavior but are much smoother (excuse me - smoover), much nicer looking and infinitely better at getting laid. So now all the look-alike "hey look, I can setup iTunes networking. I'm awesome and lovable and single! Bed me!" are stealing the small portion of women endowed by god with a geek-love gene. JUST when we're acceptable to the outside world, we get screwed by the trendiest people on EARTH. AGAIN.

    But the worst part of it is, you turn into, like, that guy. You know, that guy who always grumbles about being ahead of the trend. The "I was listening to them when they were indie and they suck now" guy and everyone thinks YOU'RE the poser.

    Please. Take me back to obscurity. At least I was getting laid when I was on the fringe.

    Triv

  8. Nerd and proud by Standmic · · Score: 5, Insightful
    If you want to insult somebody today for being obsessive about fantasy or sci-fi, you have to resort to calling them a 'nerd', which in polite society has become almost tantamount to using a racist slur.

    I don't know about you, but my heart swells up and I brim with pride when someone calls me a nerd (okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration...). But seriously, I enjoy being recognized for my mental abilities in a world where you can get paid hundreds of millions of dollars for hitting a ball with a stick or throwing a dead pig 70 yards. Who would you rather be, the all brawn no brains guy jacked up on designer steroids hitting 75 homeruns a season, or the mastermind that designed the drug and made it all possible?

    Personally, I feel to doing quality research and being published in a scientific journal or writing code for a new program is much more of an accomplishment than throwing a 95 mile an hour strike. Call me a nerd all you want.

  9. LOTR isn't "mainstream"??? by Kombat · · Score: 5, Informative


    People still look at me funny when I tell them I've read LOTR thrice.

    Even though its becoming more accepted, I still wouldn't call it mainstream.

    All-time worldwide box-office rankings:

    2. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
    4. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
    8. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

    Tell me again how the trilogy that dominates the top-10 all-time worldwide box office rankings isn't "mainstream?"

    Source.

    --
    Like woodworking? Build your own picture frames.
  10. Re:Geek Fun by thebes · · Score: 5, Funny

    Something tells me that someone who can't post a link properly to /. might not be "Earth inheriting geek" material...