It's cool to be a geek
《生活大爆炸》带火“极客文化”
He is a clever and confident scientist who understands the math and laws of quantum physics. But when it comes to social interaction, he is completely helpless. He is the wildly popular geek Sheldon Cooper, a character from the hit US sitcom The Big Bang Theory.
精通数学和量子物理学的他是个聪明又自信的科学家。但在人际交往方面，他却完全无药可救。他就是大受欢迎的极客谢尔顿·库珀，一个来自美国情景喜剧《生活大爆炸》中的角色。
Since it first aired in 2007, the public has gradually changed its stereotype about nerdy guys who love comic books and argue over the space captains of Star Trek. On May 16, the record-breaking 279-episode TV series came to an end, with Cooper beating his social anxiety and earning a major achievement.
自从该剧2007年首播以来，大家逐渐改变了对书呆子的刻板印象，他们爱看漫画，也会为《星际迷航》中的太空船长而争论不休。5月16日，这部创下记录的279集电视剧迎来了大结局，谢尔顿最终战胜了自己的社交焦虑症，并获得了一项巨大成就。
"Geek culture ... may look back one day and realize that this little sitcom was more of a positive force than they thought," its producer, Chuck Lorre, told The Verge.
“极客文化……或许有朝一日回过头来，（大家）会发现这部小小的情景喜剧更多的是有着积极力量，”该剧制片人查克·罗瑞在接受The Verge网站采访时如此表示。

According to CNN, the show brought geek culture into the mainstream and changed its definition. In the 19th century, the word "geek" originally appeared as a variant of "geck", meaning "a simpleton". However, due to the increasing importance of technology in society, the word has come to mean "a clever ... and cool person preoccupied with computing", noted The Scotsman.
据美国有线电视新闻网报道，这部剧将极客文化带入主流，并改变了其定义。19世纪时，“geek”一词最初是作为“geck”（意为“头脑简单的人”）的变体出现。然而，随着科技在社会中日益重要，“geek”一词逐渐形成了“沉迷于计算机技术、聪明又酷的人”的意思，《苏格兰人报》指出。
The Collins online dictionary updated its definition and named it Word of the Year in 2013. Now its main definition in Collins is, "a person who is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about a specific subject".
柯林斯在线词典更新了该词的定义，并将其选为2013年年度词汇。如今，在《柯林斯词典》中，该词的主要意思为“知识渊博、热衷于某一领域的人”。
Geeky people tend to be motivated by the deep joy of building things. For many computer programmers, their true pleasure is to create "worlds" through coding, which "combines deep intellectual challenges with other creative activities such as art, cooking or music", Turkish writer Zeynep Tufekci told The New York Times.
极客们更容易被构建事物的深层愉悦感所激励。对于许多计算机程序员而言，他们真正的快乐在于通过写代码创造“世界”，“将有难度的智力挑战与艺术、烹饪或者音乐等其他创造性活动结合在一起”，土耳其作家泽伊内普·突凡科西在接受《纽约时报》采访时表示。
Many from the young generation are excited about thinking and learning. They are now comfortable with – and proud of – their geeky sides. From the newest gadgets, to the latest art and popular music, choosing to avoid geeks is choosing to be out of the mainstream.
年轻一代中有不少人都对思考和学习的过程感到兴奋。如今他们乐见自己极客的一面，并为之感到自豪。从最新的小物件，到最潮的艺术和流行音乐，不想变得极客反而是落伍了。
What do you like to get geeky about?
你想要在哪方面成为极客呢？