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Well, it looks like most of the scores are hovering between 0% and 50%. Which means I probably have the test tuned properly. On the other hand, it also means there are four responses that just aren’t getting any play.

If you want to take the test go here. If you just want to read all the responses (this is kind of a spoiler) read on…

Scores 0% and Lower:

Boy, you really broke through the bottom on this one. You are SO not geek. I recommend staying away from conventions, computer stores, colleges, universities, or anywhere else people might display the slightest interest in something other than what’s on TV at the present moment. Your mere presence among geeks of any degree is incredibly dangerous to the continued existence of the known universe. Here, I’ll say it slow so you can understand: Anti-geek + Geek = Big Boom. Now go read a book, for god’s sake.

Commentary: I think maybe one person has scored low enough to get this answer so far; I hope they were trying for a low geek score. The male icon is Leonardo DiCaprio, despite the fact that he did a pretty decent job of playing Romeo. See, I attribute that to the director. The female icon is Heather Graham with what is quite possibly the stupidest expression I have ever seen on a human being.

Scores 0% to 25%:

OK, so maybe you ain’t a geek. You do, at least, show a bit of interest in the world around you. Either that, or you have enough of a sense of humor to pick some of the sillier answers on the test. Regardless, you’re probably a pretty nifty, well-rounded person who gets along fine with people and can chat with just about anyone without fear of looking stupid or foolish or overly concerned with minutiae. God, I hate you.

Commentary: A lot of people are scoring here. The male icon is, of course, Mr. Terminator himself. I think he’s supposed to be smiling, but it looks to me like he needs his diaper changed. The female is Christina Applegate Drew Barrymore.

Scores 26% to 50%:

You are a geek liaison, which means you go both ways. You can hang out with normal people or you can hang out with geeks which means you often have geeks as friends and/or have a job where you have to mediate between geeks and normal people. This is an important role and one of which you should be proud. In fact, you can make a good deal of money as a translator.

Normal: Tell our geek we need him to work this weekend.
You [to Geek]: We need more than that, Scotty. You’ll have to stay until you can squeeze more outta them engines!
Geek [to You]: I’m givin’ her all she’s got, Captain, but we need more dilithium crystals!
You [to Normal]: He wants to know if he gets overtime.

Commentary: This is where most of the results are sorting; it makes sense that most technical people with weblogs are going to end up here, actually. You can read this as “social geek” if you prefer. The male icon is David Duchovny, who is not a geek (as far as I know) but he plays one on TV. The female icon is Kirsten Dunst, who’s Mary Jane character in Spider Man is not a geek but someone inclined to dating geeks.

Scores 51% to 75%:

You are a geek. Good for you! Considering the endless complexity of the universe, as well as whatever discipline you happen to be most interested in, you’ll never be bored as long as you have a good book store, a net connection, and thousands of dollars worth of expensive equipment. Assuming you’re a technical geek, you’ll be able to afford it, too. If you’re not a technical geek, you’re geek enough to mate with a technical geek and thereby get the needed dough. Dating tip: Don’t date a geek of the same persuasion as you. You’ll constantly try to out-geek the other.
Commentary: Very very few people are scoring this high: about four people so far including me. The male icon is Drew Carey, because, well, yeah. He’s a geek I’m sure. I suppose I could also use Al Franken. The female icon is Jodie Foster because she played that scientist person in Contact.

Scores 76% to 99%:

OK. There is such a thing as too much geekness. I suspect you’re spending far too much time with the boys or girls of the Internet. The closer your score is to 100%, the closer you are to going right out the other side and being a nerd. Geeks rule. Where geek are socially-inept, nerds are socially incompetent. Not even geeks can take nerds. So let’s be careful, huh? Watch a little TV, maybe listen to some popular radio, read a little Stephen King, anything to ensure you can communicate with the 99.44% of the population that isn’t all that concerned with the minutiae of whatever it is you happen to be geeky about. It’s OK to be a geek, but go much further and you’ll be a genuine bore.
Commentary: 0 people in this rank so far. The male icon: that’s Weird Al. If you don’t own any Weird Al albums, you get a significnt reduction in your score; I cannot accept that anyone can be a geek and not have at least one Weird Al album. The female icon is Janeane Garafolo wearing a traffic cone. She’s the geekiest female celebrity I can think of.

Perfect Score:

My GOD you’re INSANE. This is the highest score possible. This means 1 of 11 things:
1: You are a complete poser who answered every question with the answer you thought would get you the highest score possible without regard for the truth. In which case, you’re a nerd. Good job, you did it. Now get going.
10: You’re a geek who’s been playing with the test to find out what all the answers should be. Good going! you found the secret five points. That doesn’t change the fact that you probably scored between 50% and 75% the first time through, though.
11: You are naturally that geeky. Which means you scare me. Please don’t write me to correct the science of my test. Yes, I know it’s not scientifically accurate. Go away, kid, you bother me.
Commentary: It would take work to get this high a score, I think — you’d have to slog through the source code and find where I hid five points. The male icon is a very young Bill Gates. The female icon was formerly Mayim Balik (bottom), who dropped out of television to study marine biology, but some wise test-takers suggested Michelle Meyrink (Jordan from Real Genius) instead. This picture was taken from Alan’s Michelle Meyrink page. Alan is a little obsessed. Not that we blame him.

303 Comments

  1. Donna wrote:

    Okay, I thought I loved the test before I saw all the results - now I love your test so much that I may never be inclined to make one of my own. It’s great - it’s the Uber-test. Even if I am stuck with Christina Applegate…

    Tuesday, July 30, 2002 at 12:41 pm | Permalink
  2. Morgan wrote:

    I hate to correct you on your own test but the girl for 0%-25% is Drew Barrymore not Christina Applegate.

    Tuesday, July 30, 2002 at 1:21 pm | Permalink
  3. John wrote:

    Hah. I was right the first time. I had been telling people it was Drew Barrymore, but while writing this I said “no, wait, it’s applegate.” OK, I’ll make the correction. Thanks, Morgan!

    Tuesday, July 30, 2002 at 1:25 pm | Permalink
  4. kathryn wrote:

    After realising that there are negative scores and that picture of Heather Graham… I’ll stay happy with my 3%.

    Tuesday, July 30, 2002 at 2:47 pm | Permalink
  5. Nyssa23 wrote:

    I am proud to be the FIRST person to score 91%! Woo hoo!

    Oddly enough, I am the proudest of that score I’ve ever been of any online personality test score.

    …Help me.

    Wednesday, July 31, 2002 at 6:54 pm | Permalink
  6. Antoni Gates wrote:

    I have to say that made me chuckle m8, scored a 16% but i think that was because i have a Weird Al CD buried somewhere ;)

    nice test, best one ive seen, cheers

    ant

    Saturday, August 3, 2002 at 7:51 am | Permalink
  7. DJ SunnyD wrote:

    For the 100% Geek, Janet Reno. c.c She looks the part, and…yeah. Just as intolerable.

    Sunday, August 4, 2002 at 6:54 am | Permalink
  8. Zorba wrote:

    woot! perfect score! I even found the five bonus points! (Incidentally, why does the option for the five bonus points make it *toggle*?)

    . . . wait. why am I PROUD of this?

    I even analyzed its behavior to find a potential bug . . .

    NO! I ONLY SCORED 40% THE FIRST TIME, TOO!

    *feels un-nerdiness slipping away*

    wait! wait! I’m interesting! I’m attractive! I don’t have broadband!

    . . . mostly because I only moved in a week ago, and it’s got a two week order time, despite the fact that the first thing I did was order it . . .

    ah geez.

    I lose.

    Monday, August 5, 2002 at 5:10 am | Permalink
  9. Tunic wrote:

    52%, comfortably geek. Spot on.
    I think it was my extensive jazz collection that tipped me over the edge from “geek liason”, although I DO work as an interpreter. True story.

    Monday, August 5, 2002 at 9:05 am | Permalink
  10. pickledginger wrote:

    52% ??
    That didn’t sound so bad … until I read the stats. But I can’t be hard-core geek - I speak real-world, really!! I even translate for my friends, when I’m not datamining for them, or for fun, of course, or … or … or … oh, dear! I suppose I am!
    But how will I tell my friends?
    My family?

    Monday, August 5, 2002 at 12:19 pm | Permalink
  11. Kathryn wrote:

    Female ubergeek? COME ON. Jordan from Real Genius. The one the only.

    Monday, August 5, 2002 at 12:48 pm | Permalink
  12. Adrian wrote:

    What really scares me is the accuracy of the CDs on the music round. I owned _all_ the geeky music.

    58%

    Monday, August 5, 2002 at 2:56 pm | Permalink
  13. Aurora the language geek wrote:

    Please! It’s liaison, with two is. Thanks. That’s been bothering me. I’m 51% geek, and loving my new TMBG album, mmm!

    Monday, August 5, 2002 at 5:53 pm | Permalink
  14. sylk wrote:

    I feel vindicated.

    68% geek.

    More proof that my proper label is geek, not nerd.

    Quite amusing. I’m tempted to go play now but there’s too many interesting games on my computer…

    Need geek boy now.

    Tuesday, August 6, 2002 at 3:56 pm | Permalink
  15. rickabeth wrote:

    I actually took the quiz twice, the first time i was trying to tone down the geekiness but still got a 50%, so i figured ‘what the hell’ and took it completely honestly. And I am now proud to be 65% geek. :)

    Like Estelle, I have several dozen Broadway soundtracks…but no weird al. Instead I have a half dozen BNL cds laying around which I’m sure compensate for that.

    My boyfriend thinks I look like Jodie Foster in Contact. I suppose that’s even more of a compliment now :)

    Tuesday, August 6, 2002 at 3:58 pm | Permalink
  16. rickabeth wrote:

    okay, *groan*…I just got the ‘one of 11 things’ joke. that’s awful, I love it. (And does that increase my geekiness any?)

    Tuesday, August 6, 2002 at 5:44 pm | Permalink
  17. LillyQ wrote:

    It’s refreshing to find a test that has been done so well! My Score: 26% Liaison

    Tuesday, August 6, 2002 at 8:10 pm | Permalink
  18. Mouse wrote:

    41% liason
    It’s true though, most of my real life friends are normal nowadays, though I do know a lot of geeks on the net.
    I lost some points in that I don’t own very many cd’s , and the European music scene differs somewhat from the American, Al never really broke though here , though I have heard of him.

    Good test, though I think I scored the geek liason thing on some other test too, but it was a while ago so I don’t remember where it was.

    Greetings from The Netherlands !

    Tuesday, August 6, 2002 at 9:20 pm | Permalink
  19. Megan wrote:

    43%. Very accurate I’d say. :D
    This is the first geek quiz I’ve seen that seemed to genuinely know what they were talking about. rock on in your geekdom. ;)

    Tuesday, August 6, 2002 at 11:31 pm | Permalink
  20. Carter McClung wrote:

    I’m really only a math dork… I wanted to see more statistics on the stats page. I was going to calculate the probabillity of a female scoring higher than a male, but there was no standard deviation… Geez, I’m a stat dork.

    oh, and I got 40%

    Wednesday, August 7, 2002 at 12:50 am | Permalink
  21. Dustin B wrote:

    “there are 10 types of people, those that understand binary, and those that don’t ”

    I like how the perfect socre is numbered in binary…. the only thing keeping me from hitting a perffect is that I’m considered a arch-geek (i.e. once built a rail gun just to see how far he could launch an empty beer can down the street)

    Wednesday, August 7, 2002 at 8:57 am | Permalink
  22. Madeline wrote:

    I’m just glad I got Jodie Foster. I like Jodie Foster.

    You really need to have something in there for us fantasy geeks. If there were fantasy geek questions I’m positive I would have scored at least 75%. How about, “Have you ever played D&D? Have you ever been a dungeonmaster? Can you quote Tolkien? Do you play online RPGs? Do you write fanfiction? For books?”

    Ooh I’m a geek.

    Wednesday, August 7, 2002 at 1:51 pm | Permalink
  23. Irina wrote:

    58%…!? I feel both relieved and surprised at the same time. I’m a geek! *does a little dance*

    Wednesday, August 7, 2002 at 2:03 pm | Permalink
  24. Amanda wrote:

    32%

    how very neat.

    Yeah, what about ‘do you play online rpgs?’

    Wednesday, August 7, 2002 at 2:08 pm | Permalink
  25. John wrote:

    RPGs in general would have been a good question to add to the test. Unfortunately, with over 16,000 tests taken I think it’s a little late now to change the content of the test. Perhaps edition two….

    Wednesday, August 7, 2002 at 2:14 pm | Permalink
  26. D-girl wrote:

    34%
    Rather accurate, actually…I thought I’d be geekier, but I *do* act as a lias…lie…oh, screw it, I’m using the spellchecker…Liaison. Suppose the fact that I can’t stand typos proves my geekiness. :P

    Hilarious test, especially the commentary. I’d *love* to see a fantasy geek quiz…How many D&D campaigns have you played? How many do you admit (to “normal” people) to playing?

    Wednesday, August 7, 2002 at 4:57 pm | Permalink
  27. Chris Rock wrote:

    You forgot to add in the initial question; “How did you find and Why are you taking this test?” I mean, most people should get immediate points just for taking a stinking online test in the first place.

    Also, I think my score should be increased significantly for making this post, having an e-mail address that forms a command, and using words like “increased significantly” instead of saying “raised” like a normal person.

    Wednesday, August 7, 2002 at 6:35 pm | Permalink
  28. Katrina wrote:

    41%…
    I’m shocked. I thought I was geekier! Oh well. I dunno if I’m happy or distraught….mabye a little of both ^_^

    Wednesday, August 7, 2002 at 6:50 pm | Permalink
  29. Nicole wrote:

    I got -5%
    LMAO
    And that is so very true!
    WOOT

    Very cool test. Thanks!

    Wednesday, August 7, 2002 at 7:19 pm | Permalink
  30. John wrote:

    There’s now a FAQ for this test here.

    Wednesday, August 7, 2002 at 8:52 pm | Permalink
  31. Alexis wrote:

    59% geek; sounds pretty accurate to me :) Neat little quiz.

    Wednesday, August 7, 2002 at 9:42 pm | Permalink
  32. Dustin B wrote:

    Indeed they do Michael, but I had to switch to empties after having to rebuild the muzzle on the gun for the 3rd time. The empties did less damage to the gun when they spawled inside the gun. Also had to switch to a large coil gun, since I kept blowing capacitors and fuses when ever a can jam. And with the coil gun I was able to launch a barbie wrapped in steel bailing wire, a good distance down the block.

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 12:48 am | Permalink
  33. Heather wrote:

    Does it count that I have a Weird Al record? I don’t have a CD of his… I should retake it and say that I have one since I have a record. I got 34% the first time around…

    Whee! I just got 100%! Yes, I looked at the source code.

    Ok, for real this time. I got 36%

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 12:50 am | Permalink
  34. Julie wrote:

    Sure, sure. I rank a 64%, a fact of which I’m rather proud, and then you tell me that I’m one of a select group? So much for my already-dismal chances for social contact! ;c)

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 3:10 am | Permalink
  35. Lanna wrote:

    37% fairly accurate I’d say. But Cds? Ask about Mp3s!

    Oh, I like the Binary in the perfect score description. very cute….Hm, do I get extra points for seeing that?

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 9:56 am | Permalink
  36. Beatrice wrote:

    13% geek? But I am a geek! I AM! *sniffle*

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 12:06 pm | Permalink
  37. Jack wrote:

    Well… yeah… but over the last decade or so “geek” has kinda eclipsed “nerd,” especially when it comes to obsessives and experts.

    Common usage doesn’t necessarily become proper usage, Justin. “Ain’t” and double negatives will probably always be nonstandard. Then again, I’m the kind of person who is driven absolutely batty by seeing kneeled instead of knelt, dived instead of dove and so on. I mean, et cetera…

    Oh, and I took the test again, and discovered that, along with a couple of other minor changes to my answers, the difference in scoring between ‘boy’ and ‘female’ is one percentage point or less. (My two results were 59% and 60%.) Sure, I’m tempted to read the correlation as a subtle shout-out to current trends in trans-identity, but I don’t really believe that it is.

    Which begs the question… why include a section that has no bearing on the final result? (No, I haven’t looked at the code. I’m useless for anything more advanced than basic html.)

    Despite all my nitpickery, John, I did have fun with your test, both times. I’m just truly, deeply anal.

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 2:30 pm | Permalink
  38. John wrote:

    Jack, here’s a tip: compare like with like. If you say “Boy” or “Girl” you get zero points. If you say “Male” or “Female” you get five points. (raw score, not percentage.) If you compare results from choosing “Boy” with results from choosing “Female” you will get a different score; but it’s the same as choosing between “Boy” and “Male.” The score is in how you choose to answer the question, not in what the actual answer is. Which should give you a clue about where the extra five points are.

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 2:36 pm | Permalink
  39. monstre wrote:

    72% ? No wonder I still have relative muscle tone. Need…more…time…in…front of the machine.

    I’m an oblivious geek, thought. That music round gave me some food for though. I had no idea that listening to TMBG was geeky rather than just human…

    Hrmm. I wonder what that says about my definition of human.

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 3:31 pm | Permalink
  40. monstre wrote:

    Found ‘em.

    Somehow the association with Real Genius girl (my hero all through university) is enough to get over the disappointment that the touted bonus secret points weren’t a little more… secret.

    Want me to encrypt ‘em for you or something? *hopeful grin*

    In any case, I now have four new bands to discover… This is much easier than listening to random snatches of song to find music with meaning!

    Although, I apologize, but the only Broadway tunes I can handle are the “Me First and the Gimme Gimmes” versions. ;)

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 3:51 pm | Permalink
  41. Dan wrote:

    Thanks, Jack, for mentioning trans-identity.

    John, can I point something out?

    I’m a female boy. I picked “boy” because I felt it to be more accurate. (Picking “female” gives you a woman as an icon, no?) Not that Jodie Foster doesn’t rock. (I got 51% - I suppose my score might be higher if my sister hadn’t dumped her N’Sync and Britney Spears CDs on me. Frisbee, anyone?)

    Anyway, very cool test.

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 4:01 pm | Permalink
  42. tsunami wrote:

    60%
    yay.
    i ph331 1337.

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 5:15 pm | Permalink
  43. Sonya wrote:

    Heh… I’m 72% geek, which is pretty accurate, I think. Hating computers (you would, too, after a summer of herp modelling in C) and being somewhat pretty and sociable help me to remain somewhat incognito, but I’ll be damned if I don’t read textbooks for fun and use the TV as a bookshelf.

    You got me!

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 6:48 pm | Permalink
  44. Karaden wrote:

    Whee! I thought I was more of a geek than a 37% Liason! Cool quiz!

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 6:59 pm | Permalink
  45. Yer Actual Phil wrote:

    A test for geekiness with a mention of music and no mention of Pink Floyd? Shhhhaaaaame on you :)

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 8:17 pm | Permalink
  46. John wrote:

    Well, in my experience Pink Floyd is as much a part of the stoner-redneck culture as they are geek culture. I didn’t think they were unique enough to geeks so I didn’t include them.

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 9:32 pm | Permalink
  47. Dan Reid wrote:

    Wow This Was Great, I Thought I Was A Big Geek, But I Only Got 5%, Without Cheating

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 9:39 pm | Permalink
  48. sakamuyo wrote:

    Interesting results… Based on this test, I’m only 9% geek. I guess what that means is that “geek” has to do with attitudes and not behaviors.

    I watch lots of TV, but just don’t “get” those reality shows. I built my own super computer, running 3 monitors, with a neon light, even, but it’s not what I talk about at parties. Why buy CDs when I’ve got a perfectly good FM radio tuned in to the local jazz station?

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 11:34 pm | Permalink
  49. Acire wrote:

    man, only 30%! ;_; it kinda hurts when you don’t own any cd’s. of any kind. pity the poor me! still a good quiz though. much laugh-ness. hehe, and i just bought a text book. ^^ thanx for the fun!

    Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 11:39 pm | Permalink
  50. nicolae wrote:

    only 4% geek… alas, i feel ashamed.

    perhaps julia sweeny as “pat” would be a good 100% geek? and if not 100%, she’s DEFINATELY geekier than janine garofalo. she’s “geek chic” and that doesnt count!

    Friday, August 9, 2002 at 12:44 am | Permalink
  51. soren mason temple wrote:

    –>does that picture of Drew mean that I’m Poison Ivy or that you didn’t have a better picture of her?

    Friday, August 9, 2002 at 12:46 am | Permalink
  52. morgan wrote:

    i scored 26-50%. and…i get the scotty joke. ^_~
    just wanted to say:great quiz.

    Friday, August 9, 2002 at 10:57 am | Permalink
  53. linds wrote:

    interesting quiz. 35% the first time, 100% after checking out the source code. it took me awhile to understand where the extra 5 points came from — i picked female to begin with. ::smile:: good job.

    Friday, August 9, 2002 at 11:15 am | Permalink
  54. Phil Albinus wrote:

    Twenty percent!? This stupid quiz is unfairly biased against married guys with kids who don’t dream in code.

    Nuts.

    Friday, August 9, 2002 at 2:07 pm | Permalink
  55. Chris wrote:

    There HAVE to be geekier celebrity girls than Janeane, especially if you’re picking them just because they played a certain character in a movie.

    You could use Sandra Bullock, from The Net or Love Potion #9.

    Or Angelina Jolie, from Hackers.

    Or, you could use the ass-kickingest geeky girl…the chick who played Trinity in The Matrix.

    Just a suggestion.

    ~Chris (50%)

    Friday, August 9, 2002 at 3:35 pm | Permalink
  56. John wrote:


    You have GOT to be kidding me. Sandra Bullock? The Net? One more asinine comment like that and I pull the whole quiz down. Honestly, people, show some sense.

    Friday, August 9, 2002 at 3:39 pm | Permalink
  57. SithRose wrote:

    No geek points for owning no CDs except those you’ve burned yourself from MP3s ripped from your friend’s CDs and downloaded via P2P connection? Hmph.

    No geek points for owning multiple computer-based RPGs..Should add these two into the next iteration.

    Oh. And you picked a good female geek pic for 51%. Nicely gothicly creepy. (Dammit, I’m a gothgeek.)

    Friday, August 9, 2002 at 4:35 pm | Permalink
  58. Shoepix wrote:

    wow… %68 geek…yay!!!My friends are allbiger geeks then I,and they call me the Little Geekling, Not Yet A Geek, but I guess I can use this to apply for full geek status! That, or learn about 100 or so more SW ship names….hmm. Neat test, I really like it!

    Friday, August 9, 2002 at 4:58 pm | Permalink
  59. Sai wrote:

    I kinda like how your ‘grading’ system is set up, but i think if you had a second set of questions you’d make people a little more satisfied w/ the length and their score.
    -Sai

    Friday, August 9, 2002 at 6:42 pm | Permalink
  60. sam uzi wrote:

    fragnatz… only a 60%… the test is obviously biased towards tweek-geeks and does not include a sufficient number of questions to determine serious freakin’ bizzaro geek status… harumph

    Friday, August 9, 2002 at 6:57 pm | Permalink
  61. the timelady stellastrendenlun wrote:

    hehe…I knew I was too geeky…
    I love LotR and Doctor Who, that’s not too geeky, I dun suppose… *gringrin*

    Friday, August 9, 2002 at 9:09 pm | Permalink
  62. Athe wrote:

    I scored 60%, now I have to have my husband take the test…just to see if he out Geeks me! (pretty sure he will)

    Friday, August 9, 2002 at 11:32 pm | Permalink
  63. Sunshine Yung wrote:

    O_O! I’m 25% geek?! WOOSH! :D I am smart. And it’s true. I can hang around both geeks and non-geeks. ^_^; And yeah, that’s Drew all right. She’s coolio. Anyway, if you got anymore quizzes, lemme know!

    Saturday, August 10, 2002 at 2:30 pm | Permalink
  64. matt wrote:

    1% geek

    Saturday, August 10, 2002 at 3:21 pm | Permalink
  65. Allyssa wrote:

    I was startled to find my score as low as 51%, but I liked the description, especially this part:

    “Considering the endless complexity of the universe, as well as whatever discipline you happen to be most interested in, you’ll never be bored as long as you have a good book store, a net connection, and thousands of dollars worth of expensive equipment.”

    Wonderfully put. Extremely accurate, too. (A high speed net connection, of course!)

    I suppose my score is explained by the fact that many of my less mundane characteristics weren’t measured by the test. I attend sf cons regularly, I sing filk, I’ve watched more anime than TV shows, I like roleplaying, I read fanfiction, and I argue about philosophy for fun. No questions covered any of those areas of geekdom, though you did at least acknowledge that book geeks are geeks too.

    I do have to take issue with the assumption that all geeks are socially inept and competitive with other geeks. Some of us have practiced the art of finding interesting things to talk about with random strangers, and some of us enjoy it when others show their intelligence or expertise, rather than feeling resentful.

    Re: the FAQ. Useless knowledge? _Useless_ knowledge? Is that possible? Well, I suppose if you make a clear distinction between “useless” and “worthless,” which are often conflated; much knowledge is of great worth but not intended for a specific use. Okay, I’ll grant you “delight in useless knowledge” as an indicator of geekiness.

    Anyway, it’s an amusing test, and I’ll be sending the URL around.

    Saturday, August 10, 2002 at 4:35 pm | Permalink
  66. vicious wrote:

    I like how when taking the quiz as female, beings that is what I am, and then taking the quiz as a male with the same answers as with the female….hope you understand all that…I noticed that the male was scored 2% higher than the female. I found it most amusing, but great quiz!;)

    Saturday, August 10, 2002 at 4:54 pm | Permalink
  67. Captain Kangaroo wrote:

    KANGAROO POOPIES!!

    Saturday, August 10, 2002 at 5:00 pm | Permalink
  68. 12 wrote:

    hooray for geekiness.
    i scored a 62%, and am quite proud
    i think it was because of all of my john cage, and kronos recordings.
    i have a lot of cage scores too.
    or maybe it was my odd cereal habits…not as good as in stephensons’ cryptonomicon…but pretty good nonetheless.

    Saturday, August 10, 2002 at 6:13 pm | Permalink
  69. 12 wrote:

    anyone else find the humor in the fact that no one who posted a negative score, left a link?

    (i changed my link on this one…realized i did not leave a journal link)

    Saturday, August 10, 2002 at 6:32 pm | Permalink
  70. me wrote:

    14%-drew barrymore- i can live with that

    IM Normal :)

    Saturday, August 10, 2002 at 10:42 pm | Permalink
  71. Zach wrote:

    51%. Just over the line. But I married a geek, so I’ll have to stretch my geek muscles a bit.

    Sunday, August 11, 2002 at 9:30 pm | Permalink
  72. skye wrote:

    38% geek? no… that can’t… ah, who am i kidding. i can translate. and i’m damn proud of that fact.

    Sunday, August 11, 2002 at 10:28 pm | Permalink
  73. Ariel wrote:

    Wheee! I got 64%! ^_^

    Monday, August 12, 2002 at 12:14 am | Permalink
  74. Foxfire wrote:

    Hehehe, I got 53%, although I think I should get more points for getting the 1 of 11 things straight off the bat without even having to think about it…

    Although I’m just hoping that one day I end up with my own tv show and have attractive wimmin to date…

    *sniffs sadly*

    Ok… any wimmin to date.

    *grins*

    Cheers all.

    Monday, August 12, 2002 at 7:44 am | Permalink
  75. Alana wrote:

    52%! Whee for the English major.

    Monday, August 12, 2002 at 3:22 pm | Permalink
  76. Scott wrote:

    Hmm…54% seems low, but who am I to argue? I’d go for having Al Franken as my icon over Drew “I love Dubya” Carey ANY day.

    Monday, August 12, 2002 at 7:57 pm | Permalink
  77. Anonymous wrote:

    3% hehe!

    Monday, August 12, 2002 at 8:43 pm | Permalink
  78. Erin wrote:

    Could somebody please tell me why the love of jazz and classical music bestows the title of “geek” on the poor unfortunate souls that happen to harbor an affinity towards some of the most awesome music ever written? BTW, 36%. Woohoo! Kirsten Dunst… she’s alright, i guess, too bad she was in that stupidass *cheerleader* movie. And just for the record, I CAN’T STAND STAR TREK! LOL, thanx for the entertaining test! Peace out, Erin n.~

    Tuesday, August 13, 2002 at 1:35 am | Permalink
  79. Anonymous wrote:

    Although we are told that very, very few people are scoring above 50% (only four in the 50 - 75% range, in fact), there is a veritable rash of people posting that their scores are above this cutoff.

    There….I analyzed the results AND used the word veritable…and I’m only 19% geek.

    Tuesday, August 13, 2002 at 12:38 pm | Permalink
  80. S wrote:

    I laughed so hard. I’ve had that translation job.

    It was technicaly filling out purchase orders and keeping expense reports, but the job was really created so the finance department never had to talk to the researchers again. It made their heads hurt.

    Tuesday, August 13, 2002 at 4:36 pm | Permalink
  81. Mr Zero wrote:

    I got a 67%–and damn well wish the male icon was Al Franken. :-)

    Wednesday, August 14, 2002 at 7:03 am | Permalink
  82. Amy wrote:

    52% ! A geek, but just barely. Hey, I’m an EE and a musician, it’s inevitable.

    Wednesday, August 14, 2002 at 10:37 am | Permalink
  83. JAK wrote:

    Only 43%? I’m somewhat taken aback, considering I’m a research chemist who probably says ‘poly’ 75 times a day.

    Wednesday, August 14, 2002 at 6:50 pm | Permalink
  84. Eliza B wrote:

    *sigh*

    So I was consciously not selecting things that I thought would auto-qualify me for big geek status, like anything dealing with Star Trek and the like (even though I know they’re from ST, which means I’ve already skewed things and given it away. Sigh.)…AND I STILL GOT 56%.

    Where is the justice in the world!? (At least I’m an art geek. That’s not so bad, right? Right?!)

    Thursday, August 15, 2002 at 2:52 am | Permalink
  85. safety dancer wrote:

    Great test, but you need a new category: applied geek. I’m a mad clubber and drink a lot and do other non-geek things, but I use tech to heighten the experience (data CDs, a lot of high-end trance remixing of Croatian folk songs, tweaking speakers &c. in my car, &c.). I once coded a program to choreograph Irish hardshoe steps. And — after random hookups with random hotties (for which I often have to toss manuscripts and machine parts out of the backseat of my car) I come home and write about it all in my LiveJournal. So you see.

    Also: How about a brief spot on the diff between a geek and a nerd? I’m the go-to guy for copyediting advice; which does that make me? What if I’m a dork or, say, a goober? A pinhead? A rube?

    Thursday, August 15, 2002 at 1:07 pm | Permalink
  86. dollylarissa wrote:

    Took your test just for giggles. Thank goodness I only got 24%! Must have absorbed something from living with a 51% once upon a time.Great test, saw some obvious answers to sway the results, but didn’t want to screw up my actual score. I enjoyed your site. Keep up the great work.

    Thursday, August 15, 2002 at 1:12 pm | Permalink
  87. ashleybrooke wrote:

    yes… 43% geek. whoo! i swing both ways bay :-) and i do love the geeky boys. mmmm… computers, glasses, and sci-fi conventions.

    did i mention i play d&d?
    anastriana meliamne ~ elf mage

    Thursday, August 15, 2002 at 4:22 pm | Permalink
  88. Margaret wrote:

    WHAT? Only 13%? I am way geekier then that! I’m just good at hiding it, because all my friends are normal. Ahh, thank goodness for the respite of the internet. Combined with the fact that I have very little interesting in music, I have exactly two CD’s.

    Thursday, August 15, 2002 at 7:37 pm | Permalink
  89. Z man wrote:

    Im quite supprised at the result. 30% geek am I. Well, you got to have those people who hang out with both sies, or the balance would be broken without people like me. Enough bragging, I liked the test, it was pretty cool.

    Thursday, August 15, 2002 at 8:32 pm | Permalink
  90. Molly wrote:

    36%, woo! XP I like the “liason” category. Go geeks! And…go…non-geeks! Whee!

    Thursday, August 15, 2002 at 9:28 pm | Permalink
  91. Outworld wrote:

    25%??? YES! I am NOT A geek!! Wooooo! So, how come I’m still a loner then?

    It must’ve been not owning any Weird Al CDs/albums and whatever. You should at least put: Enjoys Weird Al music or something…

    That would probably get more people..

    Thursday, August 15, 2002 at 11:41 pm | Permalink
  92. punkysnot wrote:

    51%!?!?! holy socks. I wish I was a little less geeky. That’s okay, though. I embrace my geeky-ness with open arms.

    Friday, August 16, 2002 at 12:19 am | Permalink
  93. Mac wrote:

    Huh. Perfect score.

    That is, 1 percent shy of Drew Carey. Nice!

    Actually, the Weird Al question was a misfire on a technicality. Weird Al I’ve got (somewhere around here). On CD? Nope.

    Nice test. I don’t go in for them normally, but this was fun.

    Thanks!

    Friday, August 16, 2002 at 1:07 am | Permalink
  94. Illusia wrote:

    I am 13% geek. Surrrrrrre…this test is friggen screwed, I deserve a lower score! I’m not geeky! I’m ex-evil! I swear I’m not juss playin! Geeks scare me! Not really. haha juss felt like sayin it. I um…know HTML (which is geeky) and want to be a writer (which isn’t geeky) and like reading (which is nerdy, not geeky)…so um…well yeah. I went to my old school’s sci-fi club a couple times, all I did there was laugh at people, it was so boring…umm…yeah. But I enjoy my ‘intelligence,’ hehe, so maybe 13% is correct. But still…omg…I love music to death and couldn’t live w/o it, and though I like techno I also like rock, pop, country (hahahah), classical, r&b, rap, and the rest…hey I think my score is all right then. Because I’m an intellectual, who knows all the fifteen-letter words geeks know, from reading, and I’m an ex-evil mental maniac who is somewhat popular and loves to write screwed up stories. Hmm…do I sound weird? And no offense to anyone who searches for guys on the net, but how can you?! They could be freakish stalkers…hm…I see why people think I’m crazed now. All right I’m rambling, bye everyone and hope you liked that uh ‘no-comment’ test.

    Friday, August 16, 2002 at 1:44 am | Permalink
  95. Baloo wrote:

    50%, liaison. Hmm, I expected more than that.

    Took it again, interpreting CDs as “CDs, tapes, or LPs”, and “classical”
    as “late medieval, baroque, classical, romantic, neoclassical, dodecaphonic,
    or traditional Indian or Iranian.” 57%, geek. Probably closer. Perhaps a “I
    have no idea who/what you’re talking” answer for the music questions? That
    could be a US-centric issue, though, not a geeks-vs.-’danes issue.

    Friday, August 16, 2002 at 5:40 am | Permalink
  96. Anonymous wrote:

    cool i love you

    Friday, August 16, 2002 at 7:04 pm | Permalink
  97. Lynn wrote:

    I’m 47% geek. I guess that’s about right.

    I wish I knew which things were considered geeky though. I guess I would know if I was either very geeky or very un-geeky. Being in the middle makes it hard to tell.

    Friday, August 16, 2002 at 9:09 pm | Permalink
  98. Subarain wrote:

    52%.

    “I have a fang, I have a fang”

    I think thats where my extreme geekiness came from. That and the fact I rarely look at a tv. Great test. It accurately managed to categorize(label) all the different types of geeks.

    Saturday, August 17, 2002 at 7:24 pm | Permalink
  99. kat wrote:

    wow… 57%… gotta keep this as proof. (the other geekies are playing geekier-than-thou and i’m feeling just a wee bit inadeqate…though of course they will probably just pass it off by saying that this isn’t a SCIENTIFIC test and then subject me to a few of their own…mer!) :P oh well.

    just geeky enough to be brainy but still have a sexy rep..oh yeah! gotta love it…

    Saturday, August 17, 2002 at 10:51 pm | Permalink
  100. lana wrote:

    5% geek, not bad, I would of thought drew barrymore would have been more of like the 50% geeks but whatever.

    Sunday, August 18, 2002 at 11:32 pm | Permalink
  101. Zack wrote:

    I was around 33 percent geek. I do live in the best of both worlds. The test should be considered accurate.

    Monday, August 19, 2002 at 12:06 am | Permalink
  102. Prophet of Cod wrote:

    I agree with random people…

    Table-top roleplaying should factor into geekiness level.

    Monday, August 19, 2002 at 2:33 am | Permalink
  103. Megha wrote:

    Weird, I’m only 8% geek… I was sure I was geekier then that :P

    Tuesday, August 20, 2002 at 9:03 pm | Permalink
  104. *** Dave wrote:

    Well, I think it’s skewed low, but, hey, it was still one of the more enjoyable tests out there.

    Wednesday, August 21, 2002 at 11:24 am | Permalink
  105. Mattie wrote:

    31%, that one should be higher…
    find a way to make the 1-11 reasons a question,t hat would bring out the true geeks.

    w00t

    damn…31% is too low

    Wednesday, August 21, 2002 at 11:59 pm | Permalink
  106. Alla wrote:

    60%. Mostly book/computer nerd, don’t watch TV so I can’t get involved in ST or other shows.

    Thursday, August 22, 2002 at 1:59 am | Permalink
  107. speedwell wrote:

    58%. OK.

    I think you should get a gratuitous two points for posting your score :)

    I’m an artist, for Darwin’s sake. But I’m also a classical nut, TV conscientious objector, spelling bee champion, and the oldest role gamer I know… and I met my partner (also an artist, role gamer, and geek) online as well.

    Heh.

    Thursday, August 22, 2002 at 1:44 pm | Permalink
  108. Bill Shunn wrote:

    71%. I wish I’d found the five hidden points.

    Thursday, August 22, 2002 at 2:20 pm | Permalink
  109. Lynn wrote:

    I’m surprised I scored 67%. I would have expected a perfect 66.666666666666. . . % instead.

    Friday, August 23, 2002 at 12:03 am | Permalink
  110. Corie wrote:

    I would have thought I’d get a pretty high score, but I ended up with 33%, which is not how I see myself at all. I think I should have ranked in the 50-75% or even the 75-100%. I’m very antisocial. I’d rather be on my computer than out with the rest of the world. I don’t know, maybe you need to revise the test, or I’m just too quiet to be outwardly geeky.

    Sunday, August 25, 2002 at 4:18 pm | Permalink
  111. Ancarett wrote:

    Only 42% . . . dang, I protest! I listened to Al way back in his Yoda days and dabbled on the Arpanet.

    Hmmm. On the other hand, Kirsten Dunst is an acceptable female avatar (and means I’d get to virtually score with Spidey). Okay, I’ll settle, but just this once!

    Sunday, August 25, 2002 at 8:56 pm | Permalink
  112. Chris wrote:

    2% Geek? What kind of crock is that? My membership in the “Argyle of the Month” club should give me way more geekiness than that…

    Monday, August 26, 2002 at 12:30 pm | Permalink
  113. Jake wrote:

    38% geek, whoop whoop!

    Monday, August 26, 2002 at 2:02 pm | Permalink
  114. Cherise wrote:

    55% geek. and for some reason damn satisfied with this. Now run in fear…

    Tuesday, August 27, 2002 at 12:53 am | Permalink
  115. Jess wrote:

    56% geek…let’s here it for the engineering majors

    Tuesday, August 27, 2002 at 4:24 am | Permalink
  116. Kes wrote:

    Yes, I have a LiveJournal. Yes, I clicked on this quiz because one of my friends took it and posted it in their LiveJournal.

    I do believe it’s accurate to say that I am a translator. I am the liaison between my husband (a Trek and Star Wars geek extraordinaire) and the rest of the world.

    BTW, I’m quite upset that extraordinaire is not in the spellchecker for my word processor. I use Word 97, for anyone who’s actually interested.

    Regardless…

    I do agree with those who see a distinct lack in the RPG area.

    No, my nickname is not from the Ocampa character in the first couple of seasons of Star Trek: Voyager. It is actually from the very first character I played in html-based online RPG chat.

    Tuesday, August 27, 2002 at 11:44 am | Permalink
  117. Gabby wrote:

    1% geek? Seriously, something is wrong with this test! :o)

    Tuesday, August 27, 2002 at 2:50 pm | Permalink
  118. Fox wrote:

    Very nice quiz :) I am apparantly 27% geek, which is only accurate when I’m on summer vacation and my brain is disengaged.

    Incidentally, Jack? You forget that language is not an eternal, static bastion of set rules and regulations. It changes–has from the first day someone ever designated a tree as ‘ugg’. The evolution of the word ‘geek’ from its origins into its common usage is a necessary part of language development. Therefore, if the majority of English speakers decide that it means ‘a nerd-like individual’, then that’s what it means.

    Just wanted to throw my two cents in :)

    Wednesday, August 28, 2002 at 7:01 pm | Permalink
  119. Ly2Me wrote:

    I’m a little disappointed in my 52% score (second round was 84%, but I discarded that), but I always tell people I’m only a geek wannabe, so I guess it’s probably not too bad. However, I’m sure I lost points in the Music section. No, not because of Weird Al, because you asked about # of CDs, not mp3s. :P

    Thursday, August 29, 2002 at 7:29 am | Permalink
  120. Meiran Chang/Marie Psychosis/N wrote:

    I got a 54%. Hoo damn. It’s all the annotated Shakespeare. ~grins~

    You need to put anime related questions. Come on, surely you’ve heard horror stories about the kid who walks into Japanese class with his Evangelion keychains hanging from his backpack which is covered in anime pins, wearing a Dragonball Z t-shirt and a Manga Corps baseball cap. ^_~

    Friday, August 30, 2002 at 1:17 am | Permalink
  121. Tamsen wrote:

    Well now I don’t know WHAT to think. I scored 77%, which seemed about right to me, but after reading the category texts it appears I’m some kind of bizarre, nit-picking, obsessive, gadget-mad, klingon-spewing, twisted grubby loner FREAK.

    Well, it’s Friday. Fair enough, I suppose. :-)

    Friday, August 30, 2002 at 1:46 pm | Permalink
  122. Casey Tompkins wrote:

    It isn’t a very good test in some ways.

    I think you make some of the choices too far apart, like lexus or civic; what about us Acura buyers? Same thing for party conversations; some of us talk about something besides the “date from hell” or super-geeky hardware topics. Ever consider things like politics, science, or current events? (NOT events like Survivor, etc!) Some of us are adults with brains. FYI my first machine ran CP/M: an Epson QX-10.

    Same thing for music; I haven’t even heard of most of the groups mentioned. Not only do you avoid classic acts like James Brown, BB King, Elvis, or Chet Atkins, you ignore folks like Paul Simon, Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughn, the Who, or Jeff Healey. Not to mention more recent acts like Blues Traveler, Indigo Girls, or Alan Jackson. Whoops, almost forgot Frank Zappa, Genesis, Brand X, King Crimson, and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer…

    I also think the test was mucked up regarding Star Trek (TOS forever!). Only one weak Klingon lightbulb joke? What about the “Klingon Coder’s Creed”? Sheesh… [grin]

    Must confess that I find Garafalo, Balik, and Jordan all VERY babe-worthy! Gotta go with Jordan, tho. How many women can look sexy in a scuba mask?…

    Saturday, August 31, 2002 at 1:23 am | Permalink
  123. El Cid wrote:

    26% I actually feel good about myself now.

    And the Weirld Al album I own is “Bad Hair Day.” Got it when I was 11.

    Saturday, August 31, 2002 at 5:03 pm | Permalink
  124. scheisse wrote:

    damn, i just missed! 50%…

    Sunday, September 1, 2002 at 1:19 am | Permalink
  125. Melissa wrote:

    -5%!

    Who doesn’t love THAT?!

    Sunday, September 1, 2002 at 2:10 am | Permalink
  126. kalipriestess wrote:

    26% I’ve always loved geek-boys and now I’m married to one. Thought I was a bit geekier than that, though. I think my taste in music is what got me.

    Sunday, September 1, 2002 at 4:07 am | Permalink
  127. arnold wrote:

    The girl in the picture is not drew barrymore, she is Alicia Silverstone…

    Sunday, September 1, 2002 at 6:41 am | Permalink
  128. John wrote:

    Arnold, I’m pretty sure you’re wrong about that one.

    Tuesday, September 3, 2002 at 10:06 am | Permalink
  129. Lisa wrote:

    I scored 0% Heather Graham.
    That can’t be right, my friends call me a geek all the time :)
    Anyone else got 0 (I can’t be asked to read all the above)

    Tuesday, September 3, 2002 at 11:16 am | Permalink
  130. chaoticset wrote:

    Heh. 66%, and I thought it was kinda low, really. Between the stacks of programming books on my shelves, the fact that I’m dropping a bunch of friends soon so I can get more time to code, and my inability to watch reality shows, I figured I’d score at least an 80%…

    Wednesday, September 4, 2002 at 1:51 pm | Permalink
  131. Meagen wrote:

    42%… well it is the meaning of life…

    You can’t *get* Weird Al cds in this country. I tried. I honestly tried. But ask me about Beates CDs. Go ahead, you know you want to.

    Thursday, September 5, 2002 at 5:55 am | Permalink
  132. phoenixdaisy wrote:

    I found this through one of my friend’s livejournals, and it was awesome!

    BTW, Female with a 40%, and now I want to see if I can find those hidden points, and if answering “Yes, please” to the sex question made a difference…

    Thursday, September 5, 2002 at 11:21 pm | Permalink
  133. weeeeeeeeeeeeeee wrote:

    The cd stuff is biased, cuz a true geek would dl it offa kazaa :D

    Saturday, September 7, 2002 at 10:05 pm | Permalink
  134. Chris W. wrote:

    Nearly all of the music in the music question is too recent for old farts like me (pushing 40), so I’m sure that pushed my score way down toward the non-geek end. The only things on the whole list that I had any of were classical and Broadway. (My wife has several Weird Als, though, so maybe I should count that the next time through.) Get some folk music on there; a lot of us Baby Boomer geeks love the stuff.

    You also need to check out http://www.geekcode.com/geek.html, which will give you a *ton* of ideas on different areas in which people can be geeks. It hasn’t been updated in several years, so some parts are out of date, but it’s still good stuff.

    Monday, September 9, 2002 at 12:07 am | Permalink
  135. diana wrote:

    hmmm this test is cool because it matches up with a little theory of mine. I scored in the geek laison section, at 33%. And you know, its completely true. I do go both ways across the geek/normal d