What is a Geek?

The word geek has a stigma attached to it. Many people take the word geek as an insult. The word is most often used to identify a person obsessed with computers.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word geek as:

1. An unfashionable or socially inept person.

2. An obsessed enthusiast.

By following the second definition, it is true that many of the so-called “computer geeks” deserve this title. This stereotype might truth on its side. To understand computers like with any other complex subject, you have to become a little obsessed to truly understand them. The issues of social ineptitude may vary different on a case by case bases.

You may not have considered that other people qualify as obsessive geeks too. A geek by any other name obsesses just as much. For instance, there is a particular type of geek we might call “Automotive Enthusiasts” or "Gear Heads."

"Hold on," you might have just said. "Are you telling me my mechanic is a geek?" Yes, yes I am. Let's explore this concept.

Surely many of you have encountered a situation where you have taken your computer in for repair, and had to speak to the technician who worked on it. You probably encountered a smug individual. This person knew how to fix your computer and you relied on them to fix it. During your conversation they probably mixed a lot of complex terminology with their speech.

The exact same thing must have happened when you took your car in for repair, and had to speak to the technician who worked on it. You probably encountered an individual who acted just as smug. This person knew how to fix your car and you relied on them to fix it. During your conversation they probably mixed a lot of complex terminology in with their speech.

When an Automotive Geek works on their own car, they pour their hearts into it. The car exists as more than a hunk of metal with an engine. It is a tool for them to express themselves.

In an issue of Super Chevy, I read an article that featured a 68 Chevy Camaro. The article described how its owner, Ryan Hunter, rebuilt and modified the Camaro with attention to detail. Not only the process of rebuilding it described in loving detail, but the article also listed the final specifications and performance.

To Computer Geeks, computers have no differences from cars. Their computer exists as more than just a box full of wires, just as a car exists as more than a box with wheels and an engine.

The cover of every single issue of Computer Power User (C.P.U.) magazine displays the “Mad Reader Mod” with an article inside. The Mad Reader Mod tells about a different heavily modified or custom built computer in every issue. In the August 2008 issue of C.P.U. featured Project Phenom. Project Phenom was a large computer tower with many modifications. Bill Owen, the creator of Project Phenom stated, “The project required over two hundred hours of meticulous design and crafting, which culminated in this beautiful Project Phenom mod.” Not only did they describe the process of building it but they also listed the final specifications and performance.

It appears that Bill Owen put the same tender love and care into Project Phenom as Ryan Hunter put into his 68 Chevrolet Camaro.

The same can be said about how the respective Geeks follow their industry.

While reading an issue of Popular Mechanics, I encountered an article named “The Drive Train.” The article introduced the reader to different aspects of the automotive drive train. It broke each section down into different parts, and discussed the advantages of different techniques and technologies.Automotive Geeks might follow this article word for word. They act obsessed with the advancement of automotive technology.

The April 2009 issue of C.P.U. featured an article named AMD’s Quad-Core Phenom II. The article introduced the reader to different aspects of the four core central processing unit. It broke each section down into different parts, and discussed the advantages different techniques and technologies.

Computer Geeks might follow this, the same as the Automotive Geeks would follow the article in Popular Mechanics. They have a thrust for more knowledge in their topic of interest.

The major differences between Automotive Geeks, and Computer Geeks is the publicly perceived one. The Computer Geek will more likely receive criticism for what they do.

I think this happens because of the difference in age of the two different subjects. Automobiles have existed as a vital part of the American life since the 1920s when mass production of cars became common. Not many people who can remember a time when cars did not exist as part of their daily lives.

Electronic computers have existed since the 1940s, but did not gain mass market appeal until the mid 90s. With only a little more than a decade in the public eye, computers have yet to achieve a critical mass of necessity that automobiles achieved long ago. Most people in their twenties, or older, can remember living their lives without computers.

The perception of Computer Geeks also still feels influence by the 1980s stereotype of the socially awkward looser with thick glasses. Society has started drifting away from that image, but has not erased it altogether.

At one time I held the title of Automotive Geek. I obsessed over minute details regarding engine performance. In true geeky form, I might have thought something like, “If I reroute the air intake can I gain an extra few foot-pounds of torque?”

I am a Computer Geek too. I obsess over minute details regarding computer performance. I might think something like, “If I increase the RAM voltage by .3 volts, can I gain an extra one hundred megahertz?”

Differences in terminology exist, but I cannot ignore the similarities. In both cases I tried to increase the performance of the respective machines. In both cases I had to behave in a “geeky’” fashion.

This argument does not just apply between computers and cars. If you think about it, a great many things can find themselves placed under the umbrella of geeky. So think before you call someone a geek. You might have more in common then you think.