Authentic Geek vs. Impostor Geek [Infographic]

Alright, let’s visit this topic one more time. This time around it’s the in-depth approach to comparing a true geek to an impostor geek. What are the differences? Well, there are plenty. Some people have simply adopted the geek label just to come across as a little bit more sophisticated and clever (or smart, depending on how you look at it). But the cold hard fact is that about 90 percent of all wanna be geeks out there have actually adopted the wrong geek, if you know what I mean. If we go back a couple of decades, we will find that a geek is a whole lot different than what a geek is considered to be today. Gone are the exhausted eyes, dirty shirts and slush choice of clothing.

Back then, a geek was someone who kept on tinkering with their gadgets and toys in order to find a higher meaning for them. It didn’t matter if the sun was shining outside, or even if the President came to visit their town. They were set on changing the world through technology, and they did. But it was far from the hip clothing style and constant sex appeal that geeks seem to have today. Today it seems all you have to do is put on some geeky glasses and a bow tie, along with a striped shirt, if that, and you can call yourself geek.

I managed to find an interesting infographic, created by John Will Balsley aka Taboosebalsley, which pretty much gets into the nitty-gritty about what a true geek is, as compared to an impostor. So, are we calling just anything geek these days, or does John manage to pinpoint the true origin of geek (at least what it was a couple of decades ago)? Are we all impostors walking around trying to act like geeks without a future vision of what it is we are actually trying to achieve? In my own humble opinion, a geek is someone who doesn’t know he or she is a geek, but matches the outlined characteristics that were considered geek a couple of decades ago. Just because Justin Bieber puts on a pair of geeky glasses doesn’t make him a geek, or anyone else for that matter, right? What is your opinion?

Image Credit: [Threadless]