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Why are geeks often atheist?

How’s this for a definition of “geek” from this excellent article:

There can be many kinds, Art Geeks, Music Geeks, Computer Geeks, Math Geeks, you name it.  Geeks are the people you want to talk to when you need to know something but perhaps don't always want to invite to your parties.  They are the people that collect information almost compulsively and nurture deep understandings of very obscure branches of knowledge.  Geeks are people that live by their wits and believe in meritocracies and recognition not privilege or nepotism. They value our knowledge and appreciate those who can appreciate that and more importantly, add to it.  They find great joy in learning a new thing, to extending our knowledge and sharing knowledge with another that can appreciate it.

The article discusses why geeks are often atheist, and offers up this as one explanation:

It might make sense to think that many such geeks simply find something as simple as a creator an overly simplistic explanation for something so elegant.

Yep I second that.

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Published Saturday, July 05, 2008 6:59 AM by Davidko
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Comments

 

Frank Kane said:

Hmm, at my church we have several engineers, a CPA who lectures around the world and an MIT alumni who graduated with honors in computer science or math I believe.  And all would argue that there is a God and don't find the concept of a God as being overly simplistic or un-elegant.  

July 7, 2008 11:24 AM
 

Marc Lein said:

Considering in the U.S. Athiests are the least trusted segment of society, according to one Univeristy study. http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2006/03/24/67686 I would have to disagree with the idea that while "Geeks" may not be invited to your party, they are the people you want to talk to when you need to know something. If that's true, then "Geeks" by defintion need to be somebody that is a trusted source of information. The numbers just dont add up.

Marc

Computer and Subaru Geek :)

July 7, 2008 6:05 PM
 

David Ko said:

Serves me right for bringing up religion in a blog.  :-)

I think the level of trust of atheists in the US is somewhat a factor of the number of people who consider themselves religious, and by many estimates that's over half the population right now.  

Living in Asia (and thus removed) it's interesting to see the comparison between Europe and the US in the degree of secularism, but the last thing i want to do is fall into a black hole of debating about faith.  

Still, my point is, personally I do see a higher proportion of atheists among the geeks that I know, but depending on where you live the mileage will vary.

July 7, 2008 6:30 PM

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