Orinda Geek

What do Orinda Geeks do? They learn how to understand what happens around them, around others, and around the world. They develop and train their ability to think and solve problems efficiently. First they play with easy math and physics problems to sharpen their skills. Later on they will apply those skills to tackle difficult challenges, such as finding a cure for a disease, or saving our Earth from an ecological crisis.

But didn't we all learn math and physics at school? We probably all did. However, if we stop a random person on the street and ask whether, say, a hyperbolic tangent is odd or even, we might hear a rather creative answer. We all learned the very basic things, such as quadratic equations. And in the last five years, exactly how many times did we have to solve a quadratic equation? Most of those "geeky" things like trigonometry, or derivatives that we learned in school have no connection to our everyday life. We do not know how those things can be useful to us. Of course, one might say: "I do not need to understand science. When I want to know something I can ask my phone." That's right, when we need to calculate something, there is probably an app that can do it for us.

Let us say we are shopping and need information about the product we want to buy. If the Internet says: "$100 is outrageous. A normal price for this product is no more than $30." then we will not pay $100 and will keep looking for a better deal. However, if the Internet said: "This product costs way more than $100, and $100 is probably the best price you can find," then we will happily pay $100 for that same product, and have the feeling of a great satisfaction.

In other words, the Internet and apps tell us what is good, what to buy, how much to pay, what news to read and how to interpret them. This sounds like science fiction, where technology and apps control our lives...

But not lives of the geeks! Geeks can understand the inner workings of science behind those apps, and not only can geeks perform the calculations themselves, they can make their own apps.

How old are those geeks? They come in all ages. The little ones are still getting themselves familiar with numbers and counting. Those a bit older are pushing their creativity and trying to understand how to apply powerful algebraic machinery they have mastered to solving difficult problems in physics and biology. As they grow, their focus might shift to addressing world open questions, and when they see how different parts of our existence recemble each other, they gradually turn their scientific knowledge into wizdom.

Does everyone become a geek? Probably not. In today's modern world humans have built a robust infrastructure, a system where people can contribute their work regardless of their intellectual ability, and still make a good living, or even have a successful career. We do not need to become a geek if we want to follow a standard pattern of life like a template. And if we want to break all standards and have a very special and unusual life, we still don't need to become a geek. Geeks are attracted to technical details and deeper understanding of the language of the universe, because the more they understand, the more they can see, and that makes their life much more interesting.

And if you are dreaming of understanding everything that humankind discovered, but books and classes do not make it accessible to you, then why don't you join Orinda geeks and ask questions? You will not only fill the blank spots in your spectrum of interests, you might as well develop love for subjects that you did not dare to touch before.

Happy Halloween!