Geeks R Us

If there isn’t an organization called Geeks R Us then there should be. My younger brother Eric was here for Christmas and he is the one with whom I discuss computers and Star Wars. He is the other graphic artist in the family and we both use the same programs to do our art. As he stated this weekend "I’m a geek and proud of it." That makes two of us.

Too many people think that geeks are these weird people who can discuss the minutia of Star Wars, the Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, etc. While that is true, and Eric and I did a pretty could job of figuring out the continuity errors in Star Wars on the way to the airport, there is more to being a geek then that. Geeks are the ones with the curiosity to figure out how things work and how to make them better. If a geek named Bill Gates hadn’t come along most of the people on computers now wouldn’t be. If a geek named Bono hadn’t come along then $40 billion dollars in debt to the world’s poorest countries would still be their burden.

Geeks are the number crunchers and scientists of the world. Geeks are the reason we have put a man in space and on the moon. Geeks are exploring Mars. Rover's parents? Geeks from NASA/JPL. Geeks are the scientists trying to figure out how to cure cancer. Geeks are the people who think outside the box and make the discoveries that make our lives more livable.

Aren’t geeks those people in costume at science fiction conventions? Of course we are. A lot of effort goes into those costumes and it is really an art form. It is how we relax. It is fun. Aren’t geeks those people who can tell you how the Enterprise worked and what the elves had for breakfast? Well of course we are but again it is our way of relaxing.

I think geeks are probably the most misunderstood people around. Geeks make life better for everyone but the mundanes just don’t understand us. That’s okay though because we understand each other. From someone who scored 75% (ultimate geek with a note attached saying "I would have written this in Vulcan but you would have probably corrected my grammar") on the Geek Test I can proudly say as my brother does "I’m a Geek."