Celebrating Geekdom

Geeks are not anti-social, they are just anti-unintelligence!

- Anupama Mantri

Remember the socially socially awkward Leonard Hofstadter with his black-rimmed round glasses from the American sitcom “Big Bang Theory,” or the dweeby physicist Sheldon Cooper from the same series? When you think of a geek, what comes to mind is the stereotypical image of a be spectacled geeky chap with high-waisted trousers or suspenders to pull them up. This is because pop culture portrays geeks as people with limited social skills (and strangely high intellect) and other such clichés. But who is a geek really? Are the qualities simply restricted to these stereotypes or is there more to the geek than meets the eye?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines geek as an “an unfashionable or socially inept person.” However, this is the informal usage of the term, which has the more positive meaning “a knowledgeable and obsessive enthusiast.”

A geek is essentially an individual who devotes extraordinary amounts of time and energy in the pursuit of their interests, which sometimes might make them socially awkward or introverted. A small section of the word still uses the word “geek” in a derogatory manner, even if it is to address an individual possessing immense intellectual ability, or mastery of a particular hobby and interest.

Usually people think geeks are limited to people with immense mastery of technology. However, any person who has invested most of their life in the pursuit of a single passion can be called as a geek. So if you eat, sleep and breathe anything associated with sports for example, you can be labeled a “sports geek”. 

WHAT MAKES A GEEK A GEEK