What's in a name?

[cjsmith]

I'm trying to tease out a curious change (since, oh, ten years ago) in the meaning of the word geek.

[Poll #1167798]

Comments

[tiger-spot.livejournal.com]

I would say that there are certain shows that either partake of or contribute to geek culture. Buffy, X-Files, Firefly, Star Trek, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, that sort of thing. I don't think all science fiction movies necessarily get the geek points, but the TV series sure seem to. (Also Monty Python, and quite a few other British comedies, come to think of it.)

I'm not sure I agree with the "cult standing" definition below. I do agree that I went a little too far with Survivor automatically being negative geek points -- I think negative points are appropriate for a water-cooler keeping-up-with-the-popular-culture sort of reference (back when it was in fact popular), but if one were deeply into a reality show for whatever twisted reason one could become a Reality Show Geek with positive-geek-point references that a casual viewer would not understand.

[science-vixen.livejournal.com]

I don't know survivor, it didn't make it across the ocean.
Any sports reference (unless it's a really obscure sport) is pretty much negative points. You might get away with fencing, archery, or something not generally shown on TV.

To me, a geek is someone who delights in geekery. Which in itself was beautifully described by a friend of mine:

"My definition of geekery is pretty much "anything that someone is really into the details of HOW it works." You could be into art, but an art geek knows about pigments and optics or the effect of fashion on art through history, and things like that."