On February 9, it’s time to sharpen your samurai swords, take the protective plastic off your comic books, dust off your action figure collection, and emerge from your mother’s basement to gather for Trent Radio’s finest annual event: Geek Day!
Regular programming will be cancelled for the day to make room for all the geeks to let their geek flags fly and broadcast their geekery to the world. When the on-air antics come to an end, all the geeks and their allies will make their way to Sadleir House for a geeky pub night complete with board games and beer. Yippee!
What exactly is a geek, you ask? Here are some highly scientific definitions I have blatantly copied from Wikipedia:
A derogatory reference to a person obsessed with intellectual pursuits for their own sake, who is also deficient in most other human attributes so as to impair the person’s smooth operation within society.
A person who is interested in technology, especially computing and new media. Geeks are adept with computers, and use the term hacker in a positive way, though not all are hackers themselves.
A person who relates academic subjects to the real world outside of academic studies; for example, using multivariate calculus to determine how they should correctly optimize the dimensions of a pan to bake a cake.
A person who has chosen concentration rather than conformity; one who passionately pursues skill (especially technical skill) and imagination, not mainstream social acceptance.
A person with a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream. This could be due to the intensity, depth, or subject of their interest. This definition is very broad but because many of these interests have mainstream endorsement and acceptance, the inclusion of some genres as "geeky" is heavily debated. Persons have been labelled as or chosen to identify as physics geeks, mathematics geeks, engineering geeks, sci-fi geeks, computer geeks, various science geeks, movie and film geeks (cinephile), comic book geeks, theatre geeks, history geeks, music geeks, sport geeks, art geeks, philosophy geeks, literature geeks, historical re-enactment geeks, video game geeks, and role play geeks.
A more recent school of thought sees nerd as being a derogatory phrase, while geek is simply a description. It is taken to be someone who is an enthusiast, often in things outside of the mainstream spectrum. It may also describe immersion in a particular mainstream interest to an extreme that is beyond normalcy (e.g. sports geek). Of note is that in this definition, there is no reference to being socially inept in the slightest.
Although geek is a term that many shy away from because of its negative connotations, geekery really can be cool. It’s all about passion, and who doesn’t have something to be passionate about? Embrace your love for Dungeons and Dragons! Rattle on about your rock collection! Join the debate over Who was the best Doctor! Get your geek groove on!
If you’re still too shy to proudly proclaim your geekiness, then at least tune in to Trent Radio (92.7 FM in Peterborough or online anywhere in the world) on February 9th. Although as of press time the line-up has not been confirmed, you can expect some awesome shows, including Text Adventure Call-in, Greying Geeks and, of course, a game of Dungeons and Dragons played live, on-air. May the force be with you, friends.
