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[Q&A Re: Bill Gates.] >"Why is Bill Gates such a Geek?" > - Clueless. To start off let's define a word "geek". Webster Dictionary of English language on-line defines geek as: :geek: \'ge-k\ n [prob. fr. E dial. geek, geck fool, fr LG geck, fr MLG] : a carnival performer often billed as wild man who's act usually includes biting the head off live chicken or snake. I never heard of Bill Gates biting heads off chickens, not even mentioning snakes, even though he did perform on some of the carnivals, the latest one being the Comdex. He does not really qualify as a complete geek, as you can see. "Computer geek" maybe? Let's see... "The on-line hacker Jargon file version 4.0.0 24 JUL 1996" defines: :computer geek: /n./ 1. One who eats (computer) bugs for a living. One who fulfills all the dreariest negative stereotypes about hackers: an asocial, malodorous, pasty-faced monomaniac with all the personality of a cheese grater. Cannot be used by outsiders without implied insult to all hackers; compare black-on-black vs. white-on-black usage of `nigger'. A computer geek may be either a fundamentally clueless individual or a proto-hacker in {larval stage}. Also called `turbo nerd', `turbo geek'. See also {propeller head}, {clustergeeking}, {geek out}, {wannabee}, {terminal junkie}, {spod}, {weenie}. 2. Some self-described computer geeks use this term in a positive sense and protest sense 1 (this seems to have been a post-1990 development). For one such argument, see http://samsara.circus.com/~omni/geek.html. {bletcherous}, {losing}, q.v., but the connotation is much milder. Mr. Gates stoped coding, and mostly governs the taking over of the world by Microsoft. Therefore Bill Gates is NOT a geek. He is a wannabe geek. Here are helpful signs that you can use to determine the difference between real geeks and wannabe geeks: Wannabe Geeks Real Geeks ------------- ---------- Buy computers from mail-order Create their own using the chips shops and upgrade them by hand they make in their basement Complain about the bugs in the When told about bugs, they respond: sure-to-be-a-hit super cool game ``You mean some people don't write that they're creating perfect code the first time???'' Learn to type really fast so that Create devices that hook into their they can write more code faster brains and allowing them to input code as fast as they think Work really hard and finish the Have their artificial intelligence weekend assignment in a day program write it for them so they can code more interesting things Use an optimizing compiler to get Optimize their code by hand... that extra speed ...and do a better job As you can see, Bill Gates is not a geek. He was formerly a wannabe geek, but has never approached the nirvana that being a geek truly is. Hopefully, with this helpful guide to lead you, you won't make such a horrible mistake again, Dear Clueless.


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