The Geeks of Our Culture

I love geeks. Converse All Stars. Dark-rimmed glasses that look like they came straight out of the sixties. I’m a fan.

One of the things that make geeks intrinsically attractive to me is their intelligence. They know that Britain is not England. They can reasonably discuss macroeconomics.

And yet, the geeks of this world, once viewed as awkward idiots, are being put in the spotlight. It turns out that people go for the misfits when they are portrayed as awesome. Because of this, it’s hard to find a geek who isn’t already popular. Is it because people are becoming nicer, or because the general consensus has suddenly made geeks cooler? I’d vote for the latter.

I get this feeling that there are a lot of pseudo-geeks in our midst. They wear the clothes. Maybe they’re quirky. But I am not fooled. They are too popular to be geeks.

It’s just hard to find an unwanted geek in the world to love these days.

Note: the title picture is of the geek in “National Treasure.” I liked him before I found out how infinitely popular he is.