Tuesday, July 26, 2011

The Geekdom Scale

I've ranted about this many a time, but here it is in written form.
In my opinion, there are varying levels of nerdiness and/or geekdom, and I think it is our job as human beings to better understand each other.

1. Geek
-- Everybody falls into this category, because everybody is geeky about something or another.  It doesn't even have to be considered geeky by societal norms, you can just be geeky for almost no reason at all.  No examples are necessary as this is a broad category for just about everyone.

2. Super geek
-- This is where being a geek really begins.  This takes a certain level of commitment to something in order to achieve this.

--Examples
Having seen (not all, but at least one of) Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or having a working knowledge of how to play the Pokemon card game

3. Mega Geek
-- An above average level of geekiness, high level of commitment

--Examples
Having seen all the Star Wars movies, all of the Lord of the Rings, some or even most of the Star Trek movies, several seasons of BSG, all the Harry Potter movies, being a Magic the Gathering player, DnD or having completed a single Final Fantasy game

4. Turbo Nerd
-- Geek gets elevated to Nerd, extreme level of commitment

-- Examples
Having seen all of the Lord of the Rings extended editions, having watched all Star Wars movies in order by canon, having seen almost or even all of the Star Trek movies and/or TV seasons, having completed multiple Final Fantasy games, and even considering the possibility of cosplaying as your favorite sci-fi, comic or fantasy characters

5. Ultima Nerd
-- The highest level of Geekdom achievable, unbelievable amount of commitment bordering on obsessions

-- Examples
Owning in-universe perspective books of your favorite series or obsession, knowing that Ultima is a Final Fantasy spell (the most powerful one), owning your own cosplay costumes and having attended a convention or gathering of sorts, having a Starcraft 2 APM of 70 or higher, played every Metal Gear Solid game that has come to next-gen consoles and can recite the whole story, and completing 90% of the achievements/trophies in Fallout 3 or New Vegas

Conclusion

There are many other things on this list which would be considered geeky or nerdy which I did not take the time to list.  I will also state that I am most assuredly an Ultima Nerd, and my true obsession is Star Trek.  Every example I listed under Ultima Nerd I am guilty of, all except the costume and convention thing which I plan to get in time for next year's Star Trek convention.  I hope this was fun and enlightening.  It was for me, because you guys know that I just love to talk.

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