Geek canon
Related: cyberpunk and cyberspace - electronic - science fiction - obsession - hacker - canon - computer - subculture - William Gibson
Definition
A geek is a person who is fascinated, perhaps obsessively, by obscure or very specific areas of knowledge and imagination, usually electronic or virtual in nature. Geek may not always have the same meaning as the term nerd (see nerd for a discussion of the disputed relation between the terms). --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geek [Aug 2006]
The Geek canon is a canon of books, art, films, television series, games, electronic gadgets, or other miscellanea, which have been influential in the shaping of geek culture[s]. The selection of canon is very loose, and varies significantly between communities. However, there are a number of works - particularly books - which can be said to be geek canon. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geek_canon [Mar 2005]
Books
There is quite a lot of science fiction and other geek-related subjects. Some of the most famous include topics such as the future of computer networking and artificial intelligence, such as Neuromancer by William Gibson (in which was coined the term "cyberpunk"), Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson; and books about futuristic topics like space exploration and expansion, such as the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov and Ringworld by Larry Niven. A common theme throughout geek canon literature is the use of knowledge and intelligence to overcome obstacles and make the world a better, or at least more interesting, place to live.
The non-fiction book Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy is unusual in that it is both a part of the canon and a work which describes geek culture and other elements of the canon. Twenty years after being first published, it is still in print. Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, by Douglas Hofstadter, is a book on the philosophy of incompleteness, a grand tour of ideas difficult to categorise which is also a work of the canon.
Art
M. C. Escher's paradoxical art is very popular among geeks.
Film
Canon films include 2001: A Space Odyssey, Hackers, Office Space, the Star Trek, Star Wars, and The Matrix series, Tron, and War Games. Many geeks can recite from memory vast portions of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geek_canon [Mar 2005]
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