Have Geeks Gone Mainstream?

An anonymous reader asks: "Recently, I've been seeing more and more news stories about how 'geek' has gone mainstream. There have been a slew of articles with titles like Geek Pride and Geek Chic, which discuss how movies like 'The 40-Year Old Virgin' and 'Napoleon Dynamite', as well as television shows like 'Beauty and the Geek' have made it cool to be a geek. Two pinup calendars of geeks have been released this year, taking advantage of the new mainstream interest in all things geeky. These include the Geek Gorgeous Calendar, which features women who work in the hi-tech industry, and the Girls of Geekdom Calendar, which includes geeks like 'Art Geek' and 'Movie Geek'. So if being a geek has really become cool, why has interest in CS as a major dropped among incoming freshmen and women are still a minority in computer and engineering fields? Is it cooler to pretend to be a geek (wear 'Save Pedro' shirts, etc.) than to really be one?"

Comments

Is it cool to pretend to be a geek?

[ArghBlarg]

Yes. End of thread.

Re:Is it cool to pretend to be a geek?

[Thnikkaman]

I love that we slashdotters spend our Friday night debating on how cool it is to be geeks. Mmmmm.... that's delicious irony.

Re:Is it cool to pretend to be a geek?

[cp.tar]

Hitler. End of thread.

No, wait...

Re:Is it cool to pretend to be a geek?

[Gentlewhisper]

What's this "date" thing I keep hearing about?

Here you go

Re:Is it cool to pretend to be a geek?

[Throtex]

Fucking Vogons.

It's working out

[Darby]

Yeah, it's nice. I mention I can compile a kernel in any bar, and models, strippers and hookers are begging me to do coke off their tits.
Truly amazing.

Re:Whether you're a geek or not...

[Ithika]

Are those 19-foot flatscreens really free?

Re:Napoleon Dynamite?

[mordors9]

That's the problem Geeks have. They watch these movies and think they are now in style. Sad really. We nerds pity the geeks.

Yeah!

[m.h.2]

...and chicks throw their panties at me when they see me in my "Free Kevin" T-shirt.

Re:It's better to watch stuff, than to do stuff.

[Stormwatch]

Not everybody can rap like P. Diddy

Thank goodness.

IF YOU CAN READ THIS, YOU ARE A GEEK!

[ylikone]

You're home on a friday night reading slashdot!!! You're either a geek or married.

Geeks

[H0D_G]

I wear the badge of geek proudly, as;
A geek is a guy who has everything going for him, but he's just too young. By contrast, a nerd will be a nerd all of his life.
- John Hughes, film director