I spoke a few days ago : the geek has since become few years, a figure of strength and legitimacy uncommon. So much so that a film like Kick-Ass was supported by a surprising reversal: replace the super-hero by the geek. Other examples could be cited, it is certain that geek culture has been widely disseminated. Becker is rereading I found a clue to understand where it comes from.
Who does not say geek today? The owner of an iPhone any claims to be such. Provided that play World of Warcraft, it might as well run as "ultra-geek". And even the girls, long excluded more or less voluntarily in this universe (apparently they still are, as evidenced by the picture below, found here), there are being supported by women's magazines too happy to fill pages and pages around the neologism "geek "and articles on" how to flirt with an iPhone. " Myself in that yard there, I can say geek. After all, I read Pratchett at a time when some neo-geeks gets off on the Mini-Keum.
True geeks, those who made the computer a way of life and who read The Lord of the Ring in VO before Peter Jackson did not make it trendy riled up. Even if only because the subtle differences between geeks, nerds and dorks (myself, I never understood anything) are routinely forgotten. Because they were a real deviant culture, and are now being absorbed by those they have always opposed. See noobs back - badly - its markings, it is understandable that it has something irritating. Especially when Apple tries to establish itself as the top of the geekitude, while the real pros swear by the PC that you can work yourself.
But where does this geek culture? Where she takes her roots? I would like to move a hypothesis from this classic of sociology what Outsiders . In Chapter 5, Howard Becker is studying "the culture of a deviant group", namely "dance musicians" 50-60 years in the United States. Based on field experience - he himself was a jazz musician - he clearly identifies a particular culture, actually not that different in its operation, our culture geek to us. In particular, these musicians are making a clear difference between them and the "squares" (a term translated in the French edition by "caves"), namely those who are not musicians. How not see a parallel with how the geeks monitor carefully the boundaries of their group?
But what is there is a unity of this culture? Why did it develop? Because the musicians dance all face common problems, and in returning to interaction between them, thus develop shared meanings. These problems have to do with the nature of their profession:
These problems are not they also faced equally those who choose to make computer hacking and complicated machinery of their daily job? This passage reminded me immediately this post on The Oatmeal : entitled "How does a web designer goes straight into business," he recounts in great detail a similar conflict that musicians dance, between a web designer which has a clear idea of what a job well done, and a client who has obviously a different idea because, of course, the clown does not know anything about computers. One could almost re-write the following dialogue between two musicians to replace "band" with "software" and "cellar" with "noobs" (or any equivalent term), and put into the mouth of a geek, everyone would believe :
can also refer to this post another computer expert, Kek blogger who makes websites through his company Zanorg: he recounts his difficulties when asked to work in an agency, then he prefers to work from home. Again, there is an independent IT professional against stupidity and severity of clients unable to properly serve a simple copy and paste, or worse, so disabled that they are reduced to using Apple rather than the real PC for true geeks who want to tweak lots of things in all directions.
My hypothesis is that the geek culture finds its roots here. Originally, computing was an activity of enthusiasts, often gathered on American campuses, which were able to define their own criteria for evaluation of what a good program because they were interacting with each other. With the spread of computers, they have faced in business and elsewhere, to people who claims to send to other computers, and different assessment criteria. They come into conflict with those of computer scientists that define a significant part of their identity around computer-generated graphics. This requires that they manage this conflict, and geek culture gives them that opportunity by designing a space independence for them. The specialized knowledge in areas that some would regard as trivial, eg science fiction, Star Trek or another, are means to express their exceptionality in relation to all-comers, however, which imposes specific ways of working. In the same way that jazz musicians told, admiring how to Becker one of them had set fire to a car just for fun ...
The comparison between a group of artists, musicians, dance and computer workers should not be surprising. The independence of the artist, his creative abilities, his strong personality, his talent inserted in projects where it brings something new, brief all the classical representation and a bit exaggerated in its business are in the heart of the operating principles of contemporary capitalism: we know from Boltanski and Chiapello, and I I talked at length about it a while ago . Therefore, it is not surprising that geek culture is spreading: it is deeply consistent with the "new spirit of capitalism." Hackers of all stripes do make may not always realize how they are ultimately conformist.
The parallel with jazz musicians can be pushed a little further. Their salvation, "see you later, alligator "eventually spread far beyond their borders, as the term" square ", which has come to mean any person or boring" old fashioned "(although the term" cheesy "or itself become old-fashioned). This also happens to geeks. In deviant subculture, regarded with suspicion by most conformist members of society but the eccentricities tolerated because of the services they render (play music making computer programs), they gradually join the ranks of the dominant culture. It was this qu'acheva to rock in the field of music. Perhaps what awaits geeks. Not sure whether they like it.
Who does not say geek today? The owner of an iPhone any claims to be such. Provided that play World of Warcraft, it might as well run as "ultra-geek". And even the girls, long excluded more or less voluntarily in this universe (apparently they still are, as evidenced by the picture below, found here), there are being supported by women's magazines too happy to fill pages and pages around the neologism "geek "and articles on" how to flirt with an iPhone. " Myself in that yard there, I can say geek. After all, I read Pratchett at a time when some neo-geeks gets off on the Mini-Keum.
True geeks, those who made the computer a way of life and who read The Lord of the Ring in VO before Peter Jackson did not make it trendy riled up. Even if only because the subtle differences between geeks, nerds and dorks (myself, I never understood anything) are routinely forgotten. Because they were a real deviant culture, and are now being absorbed by those they have always opposed. See noobs back - badly - its markings, it is understandable that it has something irritating. Especially when Apple tries to establish itself as the top of the geekitude, while the real pros swear by the PC that you can work yourself.
But where does this geek culture? Where she takes her roots? I would like to move a hypothesis from this classic of sociology what Outsiders . In Chapter 5, Howard Becker is studying "the culture of a deviant group", namely "dance musicians" 50-60 years in the United States. Based on field experience - he himself was a jazz musician - he clearly identifies a particular culture, actually not that different in its operation, our culture geek to us. In particular, these musicians are making a clear difference between them and the "squares" (a term translated in the French edition by "caves"), namely those who are not musicians. How not see a parallel with how the geeks monitor carefully the boundaries of their group?
But what is there is a unity of this culture? Why did it develop? Because the musicians dance all face common problems, and in returning to interaction between them, thus develop shared meanings. These problems have to do with the nature of their profession:
musicians dance [...] can be simply defined as people who play popular music to earn money. They perform a service business and the characteristics of culture they attend to common problems arising from these trades. These are distinguished in their entirety by the fact that their members maintain contact more or less direct and personal with the consumer's final product of their work, which they provide customer service. Consequently the customer is able to direct the worker in performing his task, and apply a range of different sanctions, ranging from informal pressure to abandon its services.
service professions are related in one hand a person whose business is focused full time on this job and whose personality is more or less deeply involved in it, on the other hand, people whose relationship to the job is much more casual. Sometimes it is inevitable that each party is represented very differently to how the service should be done. Members of service professions generally agree that the client is unable to truly evaluate the service they produce and they are extremely irritated by attempts clients to control their work. The result is a latent hostility and conflict, methods of defense against outside interference becomes a concern of the profession, and a sub-culture develops this whole problem. (Pp. 105-106)
These problems are not they also faced equally those who choose to make computer hacking and complicated machinery of their daily job? This passage reminded me immediately this post on The Oatmeal : entitled "How does a web designer goes straight into business," he recounts in great detail a similar conflict that musicians dance, between a web designer which has a clear idea of what a job well done, and a client who has obviously a different idea because, of course, the clown does not know anything about computers. One could almost re-write the following dialogue between two musicians to replace "band" with "software" and "cellar" with "noobs" (or any equivalent term), and put into the mouth of a geek, everyone would believe :
Dick: "It was the same when I worked at Club M. All the guys with whom I came to college and loved the band ... It was one of the worst bands with whom I ' I worked and they all thought it was excellent. "
Joe: "Oh, sure! Is a bunch of wineries." (P. 114)
can also refer to this post another computer expert, Kek blogger who makes websites through his company Zanorg: he recounts his difficulties when asked to work in an agency, then he prefers to work from home. Again, there is an independent IT professional against stupidity and severity of clients unable to properly serve a simple copy and paste, or worse, so disabled that they are reduced to using Apple rather than the real PC for true geeks who want to tweak lots of things in all directions.
My hypothesis is that the geek culture finds its roots here. Originally, computing was an activity of enthusiasts, often gathered on American campuses, which were able to define their own criteria for evaluation of what a good program because they were interacting with each other. With the spread of computers, they have faced in business and elsewhere, to people who claims to send to other computers, and different assessment criteria. They come into conflict with those of computer scientists that define a significant part of their identity around computer-generated graphics. This requires that they manage this conflict, and geek culture gives them that opportunity by designing a space independence for them. The specialized knowledge in areas that some would regard as trivial, eg science fiction, Star Trek or another, are means to express their exceptionality in relation to all-comers, however, which imposes specific ways of working. In the same way that jazz musicians told, admiring how to Becker one of them had set fire to a car just for fun ...
The comparison between a group of artists, musicians, dance and computer workers should not be surprising. The independence of the artist, his creative abilities, his strong personality, his talent inserted in projects where it brings something new, brief all the classical representation and a bit exaggerated in its business are in the heart of the operating principles of contemporary capitalism: we know from Boltanski and Chiapello, and I I talked at length about it a while ago . Therefore, it is not surprising that geek culture is spreading: it is deeply consistent with the "new spirit of capitalism." Hackers of all stripes do make may not always realize how they are ultimately conformist.
The parallel with jazz musicians can be pushed a little further. Their salvation, "see you later, alligator "eventually spread far beyond their borders, as the term" square ", which has come to mean any person or boring" old fashioned "(although the term" cheesy "or itself become old-fashioned). This also happens to geeks. In deviant subculture, regarded with suspicion by most conformist members of society but the eccentricities tolerated because of the services they render (play music making computer programs), they gradually join the ranks of the dominant culture. It was this qu'acheva to rock in the field of music. Perhaps what awaits geeks. Not sure whether they like it.
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