The term “geek” has evolved from meaning a freak artist who ate insects to someone with specialized knowledge in a particular field. Geeks are associated with knowledge and are respected in tech fields. Being a geek can lead to success in job interviews and promotions. The term “geek” is generally more positive than “nerd.”
Geek is a popular slang term that has been around for over a century. In the 1920s, a geek was a freak artist who gobbled up insects and other animals. Today, the word generally has a more positive connotation, used to refer to someone who has a great deal of specialized knowledge in a “geeky” field, such as technology or science. Of course, keeping in mind that the author of this article identifies as a geek and the name of this website is “WiseGEEK”, we will focus on the positive side of the word.
The word geek has different and fuzzy meanings, but there is definitely a center of gravity to the definitions. In its most general usage, a “geek” is anyone who knows a lot about a certain area that you don’t. For this reason, geeks are associated with knowledge, sometimes knowledge of Star Wars, comics or anime.
There are theater geeks, literature geeks, computer geeks, and so much more. If you think about it, the name of this site is quite fitting, because its purpose is to offer niche articles on specific, sometimes obscure topics. There are the obvious science and tech geeks, but also law freaks, gardening geeks, manufacturing geeks, even – presumably – geek geeks.
After the dot com boom, it was much easier for geeks. Society no longer ridiculed them as before. People have started realizing that computers and the internet can mean a lot of money and have started giving geeks in tech fields the respect they deserve. Perhaps the most infamous geek of the late 20th century is William Gates, whose net worth is greater than dozens of the world’s poorest countries combined. The term geek is generally more positive than the pejorative nerd.
Sometimes being a geek in a particular area can be the gateway to success at a job interview or securing a promotion. With the immense popularity of massively multiplayer online games like World of Warcraft, some applicants have even put their online clan leader status on their resumes. It has long been observed that chess fanatics tend to be good at problem solving, especially with computers.
There is an acronym, GEEK, which stands for General Electrical Engineering Knowledge. This presumably comes from the United States military and may have contributed to the current meaning of the term.
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