Are you a geek?

The following is a list of items which defines a somewhat comprehensive superset of all geek interests.

• If you have an interest in a majority of the following items, you are a definitely a geek.


• If you have an interest in a substantial minority of the following items, you are a probably a geek.


• If you are familiar with a majority of the following items, you may be a geek or you may just be related to/friends with/dating a true geek.

1. sci-fi movies (especially Star Wars, Star Trek, and The Matrix)
2. sci-fi tv shows (especially Star Trek)
3. b-movies
4. MST3K
5. computers (especially older systems with a bit of a cult following - e.g. NeXT, Amiga, Commodore64, Lisa)
6. the growing family of computer-related devices/paraphernalia/services (e.g., PDAs, portable/car MP3 players, digital cameras, web-enabled phones, digital cable)
7. computer apps (especially "niche" apps like MP3 players, text editors, IRC clients, Napster)
8. computer programming (especially arcana, i.e. deep knowledge/understanding of the operating system, networking protocols, and languages like Perl, Python, Lisp, or JavaScript/DHTML)
9. computer-industry figures (like Bill Joy, Marc Andreessen, and Kevin Mitnick)
10. Unix (especially Linux)
11. arcade games (especially old ones like Pac Man, Asteroid, and Centipede)
12. console gaming systems
13. computer games (especially geeky games like Myst and Civilization I, II, etc.)
14. strategy games (e.g. poker, Risk, chess, go)
15. role-playing games (especially Dungeons & Dragons)
16. robots
17. space (and related subjects: planets, space travel, colonization, alien life, SETI, space station, spacecraft)
18. calculators (especially HP)
19. philosophy
20. logic
21. math (especially things like fractals, pi, and prime numbers)
22. science, especially...
    • physics (especially quantum physics)
    • astronomy
    • cosmology
    • engineering
    • computer science
    • chemistry
    • nanotechnology
    • biotechnology
23. geeky magazines (like Wired, Scientific American, and Nature)
24. comic books
25. manga
26. anime
27. the far side
28. humurous/farcical web sites (like The Onion or The Brunching Shuttlecocks)
29. fantasy fiction (especially anything by J.R.R. Tolkien)
30. sci-fi fiction (especially anything by Neal Stephenson or William Gibson)
31. mythology
32. magic
33. geek web sites (like slashdot.org and everything2.com)
34. toys (e.g., nerf guns, transformers)

It should be pointed out here that geekishness is not limited to computers and related items.

If you have a deep and abiding interest that takes you way into detail and into related fields with the same passion that you show for your primary interest, then you are a geek

Trainspotters who investigate the life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and steel production methods of the 18th century, Movie fans who know the history of the Oscars and who won the award for best costume design in 1936, cross-stichers who design and make their own patterns based on the tapestries of Versailles, all these are geeks.

I know cat geeks, children's TV geeks, lingerie geeks.

Geekishness is an attitude not a subject.