How does one define a geek?

• An obsession with books, studies, gadgets?
• Wearing thick glasses?
• Having no [social] life?
• Speaking in large incomprehensible terms and not caring about sport?

2200 years ago, knowing only that at a particular place in Egypt, on a particular day of the year, at noon, the sun cast no shadow, Eratosthenes accurately calculated the circumference of the Earth.

It's about being curious

• Why doesn't it work?

It's about being curious about everything

• Why doesn't it work?
• Why does it work?
• How does it work?
• How do I break it?
• How do I fix it again?

It's about being an explorer

• Seek out unsolved problems
• To boldly go where no one has gone before
• Do something just because you can
• Do something because someone said it can't be done

And about Experimenting

• Change small parts and observe differences in the whole
• Tinkering can get really addictive
• You learn more by doing than by reading

Not being afraid to break things

• Geeks are like children
• The thought of breaking a system doesn't arise
• Fear limits possibilities, geeks hate limits
• This could be dangerous - Curiosity killed the geek

Geekdom isn't limited to a domain

• Physics, Math, Hi Tech, Comp Sci
• Biology, Gaming
• DIY

During the Atom bomb testing, Enrico Fermi accurately calculated the intensity of the blast by throwing a few small pieces of paper up into the air as the explosion took place and measuring how far they fell.

Software Geeks

• Need to be involved in every part of the system
• Some geeks are hackers
• Boredom and Drudgery are evil - unless it's personal

So what about linux and FOSS?

• That's like the big prize you get for being geeky
• Software geeks love to use FOSS
• They can fix bugs that annoy them
• The transition from user to developer comes naturally

Dispelling the myths

• Geeks like to study
• Not all geeks wear glasses. Some use lenses.
• Geeks have great social lives, and very large social networks
• Geeks are active in sport like UT, Warcraft and Everquest

Why be a geek?

• It's exciting
• Something's always happening
• What do you do when you get to 42?

Greetz

Philip S Tellis

philip@bluesmoon.info

http://bluesmoon.info/