The commercial "Geek"

Geek:  : 

1. a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake
2.  a person often of an intellectual bent who is disliked
3. an enthusiast or expert especially in a technological field or activity <computer geek>
4. 
   

The definition of what is a geek has been in flux since the 1900's when it was used to describe carnival performers who performed morbid acts, called geeks as a derivative of the German word Geck or fool. As time went on it began to be used for intellectuals because of their apparent lack of social skills. Now we have gotten to the point that "geek" is used to describe "ermagerd I am soooooo a geek, look at my glasses"

Because all of these people look like
 they would love some chicken heads

Geek has become a fashion trend, from legend of zelda t-shirts to 8 bit tyes. But what is it about the geek culture that makes it marketable? As we learned in class earlier, the mainstream culture loves and feeds from counter culture, such as tattoos once being only for "dangerous" individuals have become well...

I didn't choose the thug life,
the thug life chose Scorpion

It should come as no surprise then that the geek counterculture has become melded into the mainstream culture. That begs the question, what about nerds?

NEEEEEEEEEEERDS!!!

While the geek culture has become one with mainstream culture, it is perceived that Nerds are still the outcasts, not complying with what it means to be "hip". But are nerds not just the new geeks?

Sound familiar? This Merriam Webster definition is the combination of the second and third definition of geek. So has anything really changed, or is it all just...

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