Although in Australia a "geek" is a "peek," as in a quick look at something, most of the rest of us know geeks as a special breed of socially awkward people with a passion for technology.
The first "geeks" preceded computers by a century or so, however. They were 19th century carnival tricksters who performed bizarre acts such as biting the heads off live chickens or snakes. The special draw of these sideshow routines was the chance to see man in his wild state--all the more raw and exciting if the performer had deformities to display. (Check out Katherine Dunn's 1989 novel "Geek Love," about a traveling freak show family bioengineering their own mutations to keep the business going.)
In the 20th century, the head-biter geek morphed into the bookish geek--just as hard to talk to and just as much on the margins of polite society. Geeks (and "nerds") were people with pocket protectors and other hyper-practical accessories who spent their time on math or science problems and showed little interest in other people (or their own appearance).
For Classy Freddy Blassie, a WWF wrestling manager in the 1980s, the ultimate insult was: "You pencil-necked geek!"
Then came the internet revolution--and suddenly being a geek was not such a bad thing. In some circles, geek is now simply a synonym for "hacker" or even "Silicon Valley engineer."
The revenge of the geeks is fully underway! Lately, calling someone a "geek" is just as likely to be a compliment as a putdown.
