The Geek Shall Inherit the Earth

erick99 writes "With so many self-proclaimed geeks here at Slashdot, this particular article concerning geeks seems fitting. The article covers the gamut from science fiction to comic books to the "mainstreaming of geeks." The author seems to conclude the it is not such a good idea that the geek may inherit the earth. But, hey, what does he know. "

Re:Somebody get a dictionary?

[r4bb1t]

Courtesy of UrbanDictionary.com:

anorak
1. Cagoul; or a hooded zip-up jacket.
2. Trainspotters.
3. IT people in general, computer geeks.

Beware of couples wearing matching anoraks.
Often spotted at LAN parties.

I'm still trying to figure out whether or not being compared to a warm, puffy coat is a good thing.

Re:Somebody get a dictionary?

[Anonymous Coward]

When we were kids in Britain, the lame kids who let their Mums dress them would always come to school kitted out in a parka, or anorak, with a fun-fur hood. Every single one of them. So an "anorak" is a dweeb, or a dork.

origin of 'anorak' as slang

[sczimme]

As I understand it:

there is a hobby called 'trainspotting' where people hang about at railway stations, noting the comings and goings of trains (e.g. the 4723 to Wembley left the station at 0914).

since these trainspotters are often outside in inclement weather, they wear large puffy winter coats

being geeks and having no fashion sense, they choose the same sort of large puffy coats that your mother made you wear when you were a kid. (Think of the big coat George Costanza wore in that episode of 'Seinfeld' if that helps.)

in the UK, the puffy coat is called an anorak

the garment became synonymous with the sad trainspotting git who wears it.

British slang is fun. :-)

LOTR isn't "mainstream"???

[Kombat]

People still look at me funny when I tell them I've read LOTR thrice.

Even though its becoming more accepted, I still wouldn't call it mainstream.

All-time worldwide box-office rankings:

2. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
4. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
8. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Tell me again how the trilogy that dominates the top-10 all-time worldwide box office rankings isn't "mainstream?"

Source. [boxofficemojo.com]

Geek / Nerd / Dork classification

[daddymac]

I've always used this rule of thumb:

Geeks are into computers

Nerds are into math
Dorks are into Dungeons and Dragons

Of course, it's OK to be in multiple categories :)

Re:Individualism is evil?

[Cowboy Bebop]

It said "individuation", not "Individualism".