極客傳奇

Something strange has happened over the last decade or so: Those awkward， geeky kids that spent their days being ridiculed on the playground and nights alone with their math books have grown up and taken over the world. The pervasiveness of the Internet and people’s mania for all things digital means it’s a whole new ballgame—one where brains beats brawn.

In Geek Power， author Linda Cureton paints a picture of a geek as a Red Bull-guzzling， pizzamunching code cruncher， but the truth is geeks take many forms. And what if they become superheroes? Click on the links(Geek Justice League: Caped Crusader Billionaires We’d Like to See) to see what some of the most world-famous geeks might look like if they donned superhero garb. And in The Rise of the Geek， Eleni Cashell shares some examples of geekiness from popular culture and—surprisingly—the fashion world. Indeed， these days it’s chic to be geek.

But being a geek isn’t just about embracing fashion trends. Real geeks are often trendsetters on a much more substantial level—like changing-the-world substantial. We’re all aware of the impact geeky gods like Bill Gates have had on our lives， but in Ten Famous Geeks Who Changed the World， Saikat Basu compiles a list of some of the more obscure contributors to the Internet age， including the guys who created such 21st century staples as email and， of course， the World Wide Web itself.

Chances are， no matter who you are， you have an opinion about geeks. Maybe you were one yourself (or are one!). Maybe you were the guy (or gal) who teased the geeks in school. Or maybe you’re like me—not quite certain where you fit in. One thing’s for sure though: Geeks have much to teach us， so grab a Red Bull and a slice of pizza and read on!

近十年來，一些奇怪的事情悄然發生：過去那些白天在操場上被嘲笑、晚上獨自抱著數學課本學習的天然呆極客小孩，如今長大了并掌控了世界。互聯網的普遍深入以及人們對各種數碼產品的狂熱追求，意味著一個全新的局面——頭腦比肌肉更強大。

在《極客力量》一文中，作者琳達·庫里頓為我們描繪了一幅極客畫像——一個狂飲紅牛、狼吞比薩餅的代碼處理者，但是實際上，極客風格多種多樣。如果他們變成超級英雄會是怎樣的呢？快點擊鏈接《極客聯盟：我們一起警惡懲奸》，看看那些聞名世界的極客化身超級英雄的模樣吧。而在《極客的崛起》一文中，埃勒尼·卡謝爾分享了一些流行文化以及時尚界（挺讓人詫異的）中的極客實例。今時今日，成為一名極客還的確挺時髦的。

然而，單單通曉時尚潮流不是當極客的真諦。真正的極客往往是一個更具實質性的創新者——譬如那種改變世界的實質性。我們都深知諸如比爾·蓋茨等極客帝給我們的生活所帶來的影響，但是在《那些年，我們所不知的極客》一文中，賽卡特·巴素列出了一張名單，里面是一些在互聯網時代更為寂寂無名的貢獻者，其中包括創造出像電子郵件這樣的21世紀生活必需品的家伙，當然了，還有萬維網的創造者。

事實上，無論你是什么人，你都有自己的一套關于極客的看法。也許你就曾經是一名極客（或者仍然是！）。也許你是那個曾經在學校嘲弄過極客的男孩（或女孩）。又或許你跟我一樣——不太清楚自己屬于哪種類型。……