Broadening the definition of
Geek a bit here, I like to think a geek is any person so heavily wrapped up in their
field of interest that they leave most
mortals behind. Thus you can just as easily be a
Geology geek as a computer geek. If the conversations you have with your colleagues are beyond the comprehension of 99% of humanity then you are a geek. You got that way by being
intensely interested in
something and learning as much as you can as fast as you can.
A word about computer geeks: Because our culture mistakenly attributes
divine and inscrutable powers to computers, those of us who can command them are viewed with an awe disprortinate to the difficulty and
complexity of our knowledge. Personally, I find the intense mathematics of the
Quantum world not only more complex, but more important than writing a
Linux driver for my
Hitachi Magic Wand. Thus the computer geek is seen at the überGeek, the archetypal egghead.
Another way of deciding if you are a geek or not is if you get the jokes. As a computer geek I get why 2B || !2B is funny, just as a physics geek will get why "
Poor Heisenberg, he knows exactly how fast his keys are moving!" is funny.
When I began to fancy myself a computer geek, I realized that, though I understood the
computer part, I hadn't had enough exposure to the
culture to really understand that. So I sat down and read the
Jargon File cover to cover, multiple times (It still sits on the back of the toilet for idle perusal). Now, this was not motivated solely to "
fit in" but I honestly found that reading about all thoise obscure concepts and historical minutae was fascinating. So I guess that would be another criterion for geekhood, if you revel in the
trivia of your field as well as the important questions.