Geeks in the Pre-Geek WorldToday geeks have practically become mainstream and nearly everyone is familiar with some of the different varieties - computer geeks, anime geeks, film geeks, video game geeks, etc.
But before the internet, before computers, before D&D and Star Trek did these types still exist? And what uncool things were they into back in the day?
Well Gilligan at Retrospace has a nice retrospective on the origins and early history of geeks and nerds
here.
First a bit of terminology:
Nerds are simply intelligent, industrious individuals who lack some social skills. Geeks, according to the modern definition, are those with a high level of interest and enthusiasm for a certain subject, whether it be baseball or horror movies. ?Nerd? has become much more pejorative than ?geek? because it carries a negative connotation on your place in society; whereas, there is now ?geek chic?.
A lot of what we refer to today as geekery would really fall under traditional nerdism. Classic geeks were a rarer, more elusive breed in the past before they were able to discover each other over long distances or evangelize. Neither were particularly athletic or familiar with the touch of a woman.
And what were the nerds into back then? Well I'm going to guess that it was mostly ham radio, rockets, and science fiction.
And lest you snicker - just remember that it's thanks to them and their nerdly efforts that kids today can finally watch pr0n from around the world at home on their
computing machines x-boxes. The dream - achieved at last!
