There’s one thing common amongst geeks, the need to be right…amongst other geeks.

You put a geek in an unfamiliar circle and they will twiddle their thumbs, and possibly do nothing else but think about how much better they are. They’ll try and make it seem like they know something, and desperately try and put together something they read on the internet or heard from a fellow geek just to impress this group of outsiders.

Put a geek in a circle of geeks, however, you will find an argument will erupt within 5 minutes as everybody attempts to become the “alpha” geek. The geek that knows everything about everything. What I’ve noticed personally that within geek circles…surprisingly…it’s not so much about putting through a logical argument…it’s more about putting through what others perceive to be a logical argument. One common technique is begging the question…”it must be true because wikipedia says so”.

Even with the internet being literally EVERYWHERE, geeks fail to lookup supporting cases for their argument until the very last minute. This phenomenon probably occurs due to the fact that geeks like to prove that their are correct on their own accord rather than using secondary sources to prove their point. Some things can only be proved by demonstration.

Such great debates like the Aeroplane-Treadmill argument have caused hundred page long threads developing on forums. Arguments, counter-arguments, counter-counter-arguments were brought forward but nobody actually put it to the test. Perhaps people just enjoy a great debate where the whole aim is to shut the other person down. If a conclusion was drawn, they’d have to think up of something else.

Perhaps its not a characteristic of geeks but that of humanity. The need to be correct. Maybe we just all need to loosen up a bit, admit to the fact that we may actually be wrong.

Take a look at the Michelson–Morley experiment. They tested the existance of the Aether for 50 years. You’d think after the first 10 years of experimentation, they would have just given up and thought of something else, but there would always be somebody else to carry on the legacy.

Here’s a note to all the geeks out there, before starting any argument, be prepared to be wrong, that way you won’t act like such a jerk.

Edit: 15/09/08

Yes, yes, Mythbusters conducted the Aeroplane-Treadmill theory, I was just highlighting that people are lazy and prefer to just sit on their lazy asses. I probably should have added that it was tested, just search for it on youtube.

To save some trouble, here’s the video.