I have this dilemma that I’ve been thinking about over the last week or so. I got to talking with a supposedly geeky co-worker and we got to the point in the discussion where geeks sort of conversationally test each other to figure out where the other stands on the geek scale.

There are many litmus tests that geeks will throw out in discussion to determine group membership. Every firewall that you pass gets you deeper into the network core. Miss too many responses, and the geek sees you as an outsider and will steer conversations away from the more geeky topics.

The most basic litmus test that can be thrown at a potential geek is whether they like Star Wars, Star Trek, or Lord of the Rings. They don’t have to love any of them or attend any conventions, but every geek will have an admitted preference for at least one of the choices and be able to discuss it.

Now, imagine my surprise when my co-worker not only says that he doesn’t like any one of the choices, but plainly states that he makes fun of people who do. Sensing a possible authentication problem, I actually threw him a bone and offered up the non-standard sub-choice of BattleStar Galactica, which he also passed on. If this were a normal person, the failure would’ve indicated that it was time to silently drop any outbound packets and safely lock down my geeky core, but the guy was a co-worker who I already thought was a geek.

My jaw dropped and I really was dumbfounded for a few seconds before returning to normal conversation.

Masons have a secret handshake.

Frat Boys spank each other with paddles.

Geeks have a preference for either Star Wars, Star Trek, or Lord of the Rings.

It’s in the handbook or something. Am I out of my mind here?

Posted in Geeky