Are Fake Geeks Dooming Real Ones?

mattnyc99 writes "In the wake of the Best Buy 'geek' trademarking and Miss USA calling herself 'a huge history geek,' writer (and self-proclaimed geek) Eryn Green has an interesting piece for Esquire on how so-called 'geek chic' is pervading the culture so much that no one appreciates an actual geek anymore. From the article: 'The difference between brains and beauty is that you're more or less born into good looks — entitled, if you will. Intelligence? That takes work. If the hallmark of real geekiness — of America — is determination, then we seem too determined to have an entitlement problem.'"

So now there are geek geeks?

[Anonymous Coward]

Geeking out over the true geekiness of other geeks? What a bunch of geeks.

Re:Nope

[suso]

Shut up geek.

Explained in D&D terms

[suso]

Ok, being a bit more serious. here is what is going on.

Throughout the age of d20 and now d21 (how would that work?) in the prime material plane at least we've been making the transition from "ruled by braun" to "ruled by brain". In this new age STR, DEX and CON aren't important as they once were and so in this new world that values INT above all else, those that have the CHR, but not the INT have to use some WIS and lie about their character class. Because in the public eye, CHR is always important. Most people don't want to associate with character with low CHR scores, so they take people with a good mix of both and make sure they get to fight the dragon.

Re:Explained in D&D terms

[suso]

Spelling Nazis, please execute me swiftly with a vorpal long sword +5 for misspelling brawn. I didn't mean ruled by Adolf Hitler's mistress or and electric shaver.

Robots explain it all

[yarnosh]

Nerd: Builds robots.

Geek: Role plays a robot

Dork: Dances like a robot

Re:Nothings changed

[Culture20]

My rate is $350 AU an hour

I should charge that amount. Just getting Aussie Dollars to pay me with would be enough of a burden that they'd stop asking.

Re:Nothings changed

[Mitchell314]

But there's no money in shouting at other people over the internet.

Re:real geekiness?

[Voyager529]

I am a proud to be called a nerd. Call it to me in public as an insult and I will give you a public dissertation on how you suck at everything Cyrano style.

This.

Granted, this is Slashdot, where Geek Pride is basically expected, but I love beating people at their own game.

Them: Geek! (pejoratively)
Me: Really? (enthusiastically)
Them: Uhh...yeah. (*flips hair)
Me: One question - do you generally make it a habit to call someone of inferior intellect a geek?
Them: lolwut?
Me: When you call someone a geek, is it because you think they're less intelligent?
Them: No.
Me: ...So basically what you're telling me is that you're trying to insult me by admitting to everyone that I'm smarter than you...and I'm supposed to take offense to this?
Them: uhhh......

It was particularly fun in college, when I'd bring up the fact that they're paying tuition dollars to attend the same institution, yet only one of us was getting our money's worth.