It’s Cool to be a Geek!
Geeks are perhaps the most useful group in our society. So, we are here to celebrate Geek Pride in this panel. Pual, the moderator, exclaims, “Let’s reclaim Geek Pride!”
What are geeks? For Jack, a geek can be anyone who develops intense interest in one particular subject and goes on to acquire tremendous knowledge about it. His geeky interest is evolutionary biology. Krystal defines geeks as those with the drive to know, so we can “geek out” over many different things. A pan-science geek, including the transit of Venus, is how Krystal sees herself. Stephen thinks that it involves being obsessed about something (less obsession of Justin Bieber). The division line between geeks and non-geeks is attributed to the surge of sex hormones, according Stephen.
What about growing up geek? It is always difficult if you find yourself different in any way, such as being geek. What has changed is having a geek-support network. Paul reflects that growing up geek, what is lacking is support if you are a geek. The internet is an important avenue for finding fellow geeks. Krystal found great mentors growing up as a girl geek. Stephen, on the other hand, found his role models in books, such as Gallileo, who invented experimental science.
Geek-dom is the next topic the panel discusses, when geeks openly celebrates their identities as geeks. Stephen concludes by drawing our attention to the tremendous creativity presents in science.
- Dr Stephen Bosi, Research medical physicist and academic, Prince of Wales Hospital and University of Sydney, Australia
- Jack Scanlan, Founding member Young Australian Skeptics; undergraduate biology student, University of Melbourne, Australia
- Krystal Evans, Malaria research scientist and proud science geek, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne, Australia
- Paul Willis, Director, Royal Institution of Australia, Australia
Live from Young Minds Conference: Awakening Young Hearts and Minds
His Holiness the Dalai Lama will join us in Young Minds 2013.
WORDS BY “MYSTERY BLOGGER” WAI CHEONG KOK
