Geek; “an overly diligent, unsociable student; any unsociable person obsessively devoted to a particular pursuit” (Oxford English dictionary). In today’s dictionary the word geek can have both a positive, as well as a negative definition, neither of which is related to its original meaning. People have the tendency to alter these words and their connotation to accommodate their verbal slang. While many believe they have a clear understanding of the word geek, they lack the comprehension of its root and true meaning, as well as their mode of application.
The word geek is thought to be derived originally from the term “geck,” part of the native language Low German used in most of Northern Germany, similar to Dutch. The first recorded usage of
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the word according to the Oxford English Library was in 1530 by a man known as Alexander Barclay, quoted in his written Egloges “he is a fole, a sot and a geke also which choseth..the worst [way], and most of jeopardy”(Oxford English Dictionary). At the time, the word “geck” was used to express “a fool, simpleton; one who is befooled or derided, a dupe.” In 1623, William Shakespeare, the world famous playwright and poet, also used the word in Cymbeline, “to become the geeke [sic] and scorne o' th' others vilany”(Oxford English Dictionary). The term in its original sense was meant to belittle those it represented. “A performer at a carnival or circus whose show consists of bizarre or grotesque acts, such as biting the head off a live animal.” Another popular usage of the term was to describe circus performers who were to entertain crowds by completing outrageous acts, where their talent lay in biting the head of a chicken.
In 1935, Amer. Mercury describes geek as “a degenerate who bites off the heads of chickens in a gory cannibal show” (Oxford English Dictionary). The circus culture was built on the unusually rare. “Geeks” at carnivals were people who were not considered part of the community. While they managed to grasp people’s attention performing unnatural stunts, the cost of their actions put them apart from the normal. “Geek” during this time frame was used to describe someone who was strange, …show more content…
different. As the world modernized with the invention of the computer the word geek and its meaning took another turn. Society used geek to describe those who were diligent, “obsessed”, with the new technology. A negative connotation attached towards the term. According to the Oxford English Dictionary the word has been applied to describe someone who is “unsociable” or “obsessive”, someone who is not part of the mainstream culture. In 1991, Stephen Jay Gould, wrote in Bully for Brontosaurus, “Any kid with a passionate interest in science was a wonk, a square, a dweeb, a doofus, or a geek” (Oxford English Dictionary). When used in this context, the word was used to bitterly depict those with strong interests in a subject. Instead of admiring the people with a higher understanding of the new technology, our culture socially reprehended those with different interests. In recent years, the word geek also took on a positive meaning; it not only referred to the awkward social outcasts, it now defined a new wave of appreciation.
Suddenly the “geeks” were the financially successful, the Bill Gates of the community; reinventing newer gadgets every day. Thanks to our new computerized embedded culture, “geeks” took more pride in the word and altered its usage. In 2001, the London newspaper The Independent published in their writing, “We're the nerds, the geeks, the dweebs: the men and women who can spend 20 hours straight contemplating 600 bytes of obscure, arcane, impenetrable computer code.” The term was no longer a word used to belittle others; now it was the word people used to describe
themselves. Words have a unique capacity; they are the means of communicating and expressing ourselves. What we choose to say and how we choose to say it, is important. Words and their meanings rely on society to convey them in the appropriate sense. Whether we choose to change the context of the meaning or not, it is undeniable that we must have a clear understanding of what we choose to say in order for others to respond. Geek will have its origins, like most words in our dictionary. How we choose to verbalize our words will ultimately dictate its meaning.
definition of “geek,” which has been relentlessly used on those dedicated to the pursuit of
Goldsborough, R. (2010, January 25). Nerd, Geek, Dweeb, Twerp — In Computer Lingo, Which One Are You? Community College Week, p. 16.
The social generation has taken over. If you don’t tweet on the daily, receive dozens of instagram likes, or know what the heck Tumblr is, you better get Googling because you’ve been left behind. It’s easy to get caught up in all the likes, retweets, comments, and ratings. We seem to need this sense of validation through numbers. We are never offline, we are permanently logged in. In Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows he searches for the consequences in the power of technology.
Penrod says that intellectuals have a negative name associated with them that can also give them a bad reputation. The name “geek” or “nerd” is not a positive one for the intellectuals and makes them feel devalued. An online venter describes what he hears “A+ this and…got a 1600 on my SAT and got all AP classes next year woohoo. That’s all these people care about don’t they have lives damn nerds” (Penrod). Even though the venter seems to be angry towards the end his anger shows something bigger. He is somewhat envious of the grades, SAT scores, and classes these kids get because they’re intellectuals. All of those factors together that he
In the beginning of the passage, Fridman defines geek; a word casually thrown around to describe someone who is smart. He writes “A geek... is a street performer who shocks the public by biting the heads off live chickens”(paragraph 2). This definition provides the reader with imagery of a freak, not an academic. Hence, Fridman shows the condescension that society has for intellectuals exists even on a linguistic level.
The first piece of technology that was introduced to me was the amazing, ground-breaking GameBoy created by Nintendo. My parents believed that my obsession with video games in my juvenile years would be the cause of my downfall when I would become an adult with no job, no money, and still lived with my parents. I admit that I did have an addiction in the beginning, but over the years it moderated as I became more attracted to what was actually done to develop the devices and programs that once ensnared me. Enrolling into a vocational high school, I selected Programming & Web Development as my choice of trade in order for me to learn more about this extraordinary field of science. Soon I began compiling my own applications, but with a method unorthodox compared to my classmates; I believed that the vivid aesthetics and simple navigation displayed on applications were just as crucial as the tediously compiled, intricate code virtually hidden underneath. With every annual keynote that was broadcasted from numerous Silicon Valley companies, their latest innovations constantly entertained my curiosity. Advancing as an upperclassmen, I entered into challenging courses and incessantly researched innumerable universities as I began to devise a plan of recruitment for the companies of the Bay Area. Enrolling into a university that is passionate about the
American culture has evolved, and Society tends to ostracize people for their intelligence, and our culture has been giving these intellectuals derogatory names like nerd and geek. Leonid Fridman believes that these anti- intellectual values that pervade our society must be fought and should stop for the sake of America. The author supports this position in the passage “America Needs It’s Nerds” through the use of rhetoric by giving definitions of terms such as geek, offering comparisons through juxtaposition, adding a tone shift, and posing rhetorical questions to the reader.
The term “fan” was originally used to describe sports fans during the nineteenth century and was later adopted by science fiction enthusiasts in the 1920s. The term “fan,” however, is used for describing a type of person who is enthusiastic, or fanatic about a certain subject. Popular fan culture, nicknamed “fandoms,” have become an integral part of society in many countries, and have connected people sharing a common interest through online communities where they can freely discuss fan related topics. Popular fandoms today include Directioners, Beliebers, and VIPs. People who are part of fandoms usually show their devotion by participating in fan conventions such as Comicon, writing fan mail, creating fan art, or by promoting their interests to others. Being a fan also comes with the responsibility of changing one’s lifestyle in order to accommodate time and energy into the fandom. Fan culture also offers people the chance to feel passionate about something or someone in order to satisfy the emotional needs they lack from their daily life.
Robbins, Alexandra. The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Popularity, Quirk Theory, and Why Outsiders Thrive after High School. New York: Hyperion, 2011. Print.
Technology has become an integral part of our modern society. It has paved the way for growth in all aspects of our daily lives and has helped us mature into better educated adults. Technology is an ever changing constant that will be a part of our culture for years to come. To not embrace technology but blame it for an epidemic of immature adults today, would cause us to miss out on the momentum that will carry us into a future in which the generations will be more mature than even our
The geeks grew up during the time of “era of options” which meant unlike the geezers, the geeks were about “making history” by being over ambitious and exploring all opportunities, but wanted balance in their life too. Geeks wanted to “change the world” or make it better place to live in instead of focusing on money. Geeks saw many opportunities for jobs and growth, but loyalty to one company was not something they thought about. Geeks said the main feature of their era was speed. “It was the digital world which was nonlinear and had ditched the corporate pyramid for the flat organization (11).” What had taken the geezers 20 years to learn the geeks could do in a couple of
Wozniak, S., & Smith, G. (2006). IWoz: computer geek to cult icon : how I invented the personal computer, co-founded Apple, and had fun doing it. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
With technology rapidly changing as fast as we blink our eyes, it is important for people to learn as much as possible about the computer world if they want to maintain a decent lifestyle because the world we live in revolving around those technologies. As McKee points out, “most jobs now require intelligence and technical skill” (1). Each year, there is something either added or modified to computers, which forces people to learn computer literacy at a steady pace. While some love computers, others despise them. When comparing people’s attitudes towards computers, statistics show a gender gap that proves most females’ attitudes are drastically different from the attitudes of males. Several studies prove that women not only lack an interest in technology, but they also chose not to enroll in computer classes. Since computers and technology play an enormous role in the world today, more technology professionals are needed. It is extremely important for more women to become knowledgeable in these areas. Swain and Harvey argue, “This technology gender gap is affecting half our population and causing it to be unprepared to contribute to the demands of a high-tech twenty-first century” (17). While this may not seem like a serious issue to some, it is an issue that will ultimately lead to a bigger problem if not handled immediately. So why are there so few women in the technology field? To answer that question, I must first find out why are there so few women in the technology and computer classes, considering that this atmosphere is the most common place where the interest for computers is born.
computer. The electronic computer has been around for over a half-century, but its ancestors have been around for 2000 years. However, only in the last 40 years has it changed the American society. From the first wooden abacus to the latest high-speed microprocessor, the computer has changed nearly every aspect of people’s lives for the
I was born in the 80’s, so technology as, I know it, was beginning to take aim at the mainstream United States and the world. I grew up in an era of change, whether or not this change is good is yet to be determined. When I talk about technology I am making reference to computers, automation, and most “new age” technology. My first exposure to computers was at my dad’s lab at the University of Michigan Dearborn. The computer was ancient by today’s standards, but at the time it was a marvel of technological triumph. When I was five we bought a home personal computer (pc) for my mother to write papers and utilize the Internet. I became increasingly fascinated with the possibilities the computer brought be and I was hooked. In school we had little Apple 2Es that only worked when they wanted to but we still used them every day.