Going Geek

Geek has gone mainstream! If you feel like you’re falling behind the times, Aparna Sundaresan provides a handy guide on catching up with this breed of people

Being a geek is no longer something to be ashamed of. People wear their offbeat preferences proudly on their sleeves. If you’re wondering how to be one of the gang, this should help you get started.

BECOMING A GEEK
WHILE IT IS NOT AN OVERNIGHT PROCESS AND REQUIRES DEVELOPING GENUINE INTEREST, IT IS NOT UNACHIEVABLE.

* Read
The immediately noticeable trait of a geek is that he/she knows a lot, and that comes only from voracious reading – not necessarily general fiction as geeks like to escape reality.
Fantasy: Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings series, A Song of Ice and Fire series (The Game of Thrones series), Wheel of Time, Battle Royale, The Hunger Games series
Science fiction: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Isaac Asimov’s Robot series, Ender’s Game, The Great Dune Trilogy
Comic books/graphic novels:Watchmen, Frank Miller’s Batman series, anything and everything from Marvel and DC

* Watch
Films and TV shows should serve as companions to your reading, so if there’s a large or small screen adaptation of the above books, watch it. Here are some stand-alone gems that did not originate from books:
Fantasy: Pan’s Labyrinth, Spirited Away, The Dark Crystal, Willow
Science fiction: Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, BattlestarGalactica, Star Wars, Star Trek, Firefly, Fringe, ET, Babylon 5
Superhero: Tim Burton’s Batman films, Blade, Kick-Ass, Superman: The Movie, X-Men, The Incredibles, The Avengers
(Note: The Big Bang Theory is not the choice of TV show for a true geek. It makes fun of geeks and reinforces stereotypes. The IT Crowd is more realistic.)

 

* Play
By now you would have realised that geeks are big fans of stories, especially those of fantastic proportions. But they don’t just passively consume stories; they participate in it too by playing games of all kinds.
Mediums: Xbox, Sony PlayStation, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo 3DS, PC, board games, your imagination
Digital games: Minecraft, Starcraft, Android: Netrunner, Skyrim, DotA, Battlefield 3, Mario Kart, Call of Duty, Tomb Raider, BioShock Infinite, Halo, Grand Theft Auto series
Board games: Dungeons and Dragons, Libertalia, Race for the Galaxy, Age of Augustus, Mage Knight
Live action games: (Yes, geeks do get physical exercise as well!) Paintball, Laser Tag, LARPs and Cosplay

* Do
It’s not all fun and games in the world of a geek. They actually do some tasks in both the virtual and real worlds. With time and practice, though, they become pleasurable activities.
Computer coding: Making websites, hacking into websites, creating patches/fixes for games, jailbreaking phones, and many more similar tasks are performed by those geeks who see the potential of technology as infinite. But be aware of what you’re doing; you don’t want to get into trouble for crossing legal limits.
Correcting people on the internet: Don’t scoff; geeks know the internet is populated by all sorts, even the really stupid. So when someone says something absurdly unintelligent online, they jump to rectify them because (A) they’re passionate about the subject in discussion, and (B) they know ignorance is contagious, so they stop it before it spreads!
Attending conferences: Comic cons, game releases, gaming conferences, technology conferences… these make the social calendar for geeks. Here they meet like-minded individuals and update themselves on the newer facets of the geekdom. Many come dressed up as their favourite characters. Hollywood now promotes its new releases at these conferences with its actors, and screens exclusive clips way before the release of the films.
Creating fan fiction: Writing stories or drawing scenes set in the universe of their favourite books and shows, usually starring themselves.
Reading trivia tirelessly: For fun. Also, to have something to talk about in social situations. Knowing something new never hurt anyone.

Geeks and their clothes
Geeks don’t care about high fashion; you’re unlikely to find one who reads glossy fashion magazines and keeps up with the trends. Geeks use their clothes as another medium to express their passions.
*Thick-rimmed glasses: This used to be the mark of the geek (and nerd) for many years until it was usurped by high fashion. Now it’s everywhere. Even those who don’t need glasses are wearing them. Sorry, wearing them alone does NOT make you a geek.
*‘Geeky’ clothes and accessories: The t-shirts with quotes from Doctor Who or Star Trek, or with obscure symbols from the Artemis Fowl series, or those Batman pyjamas or Spiderman flip-flops.Clothing is a geek’s personal canvas. Collectibles, ranging from action figures to coffee mugs, are also prized possessions.
*Character costumes: All those conferences a geek goes to? They go in costume. As their favourite fictitious character. Live-action role playing (LARPs) and Costume Play (Cosplay), where people actually act out as the characters they dress up, is common in comic cons and gaming conferences. Don’t panic; it’s fun to be someone else for a while.

Geek vs Nerd
Who is a geek and who is a nerd? Are they one and the same? Are they just fancy terms for boring people? Are they creatures from outer space?
Nerds are:
* Academically skewed, especially towards the sciences
* Mensa-worthy with sky-high IQs
* Socially inept and awkward
* Dress a little strangely
*  Have academic interests
Geeks are:
* Smart; some even Mensa-worthy smart
* More sociable and not necessarily awkward
* Have interests that range from books to television shows, films, games, gadgets, the internet and so on
* Passionate to the point of obsessive with their interests
* Live vicariously through their interests

Geek talk
A handful of geeks talk about what makes them different.

“When one of my favourite characters died in Harry Potter, I cried for a whole month. My friends who also read the series found my reaction hilarious but to me this character was as real as anything else.”
– Aishwarya Subramanian, 25, journalist

“I went [to Comic Con] as Darth Vader. It’s so nice to see everyone in costumes. People pay so much attention to details. It’s like a fancy dress competition for nerds on drugs.”
– Sahil Shah, 23, comedian

“When I was in 11th grade I was a huge anime fan; I had no idea how to get in touch with like-minded geeks. Orkut was a huge help, but it was difficult to share resources. Now we have Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, which are better platforms.”
– Tara Kulkarni, 25, psychologist

 

Volume 3 Issue 7