# Do Geeky People Ever Tire Of Their Repetitious Brand Of Humor? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 11, 2002, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014 "2002-12-11T15:59:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/1 "2002-12-11T15:59:52Z")
Why is it that people who would describe themselves as ‘geeks’ frequently repeat jokes over and over again, without any sign of the appropriate decrease in amusement? I would image that most non-geeks might laugh when hearing ‘We are the knights who say ‘nee’’ in the Monty Python movie, and might even repeat it once or twice and still get a chuckle. But beyond that, it would eventually cease to be amusing. Same thing goes for ‘42’. But among geeks, these same phrases continue to elicit the same degree of amusement, regardless of how many times they have heard it. They never become stale or grow tiresome. Why is this? Are there physiological differences in the brains of geeks vs. non-geeks?? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/2 "2002-12-11T16:05:17Z")
_How much more black could this be?_ My friends and I spent years doing _Spinal Tap_\* and _Life of Brian_ stuff. Maybe it’s just that the non-geeks don’t have the brain power to remember whole scripts 😉 ---
**Author:** ![dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorkusmalorkusmafia/32/7266_2.png) [@dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorkusmalorkusmafia)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/3 "2002-12-11T16:06:26Z")
NO! Geeks never tire of their repetitious humour. Once they do, they cease their geek status. Run along. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/4 "2002-12-11T16:06:46Z")
Excellent question. I’ve observed this many times but never articulated it. I am not a geek but I work with geeks. The make references to SciFi TV all the time that I don’t get. They’re the same references repeated all of the time and each time they love it. Haj ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/5 "2002-12-11T16:11:01Z")
If they ever tire of the same tired jokes that ceased to be funny when you turn 15, they can always start a conversation about D&D, anime, or one of the 5,000 Star Trek variations. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/6 "2002-12-11T16:12:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hajario \* > The make references to SciFi TV all the time that I don’t get. They’re the same references repeated all of the time and each time they love it. [Picard]Make it so.[/Picard] Do I win a price? ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/7 "2002-12-11T16:16:46Z")
My favorite is when my geek makes the same reference fit a multitude of situations. I suppose he’s displaying that Babylon 5 has meaning for everyone and everything. As for physiological differences, he’s my first one and if he runs true to form, viva los geeks…and he likes to say that chicks dig his large cranium. But I still married him. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/8 "2002-12-11T16:19:39Z")
I can’t believe I’m posting this, but: It’s “Ni!” not “Nee!” I’m going to curl up in a corner and cry now. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/9 "2002-12-11T16:29:27Z")
Ni! Ni! Ni! HeHe ---
**Author:** ![roadrunner70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/10 "2002-12-11T16:35:58Z")
Ecky-ecky-ecky-ecky-pikang-zoop-boing-goodem-zu-owly-zhiv. [sub]move over, Dewey[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/11 "2002-12-11T16:36:18Z")
I find that in my own circle of geeky friends, it isn’t just saying what was in a movie or whatever, but memories of particular times it was mentioned in-or-out of context in real life that makes it repeatedly funny. 1. ``` He he he. ``` I’ve got one! “What color are their hands now?” Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/12 "2002-12-11T16:45:24Z")
Every “subculture” has their standard mundane conversational repetoire to be used as social currency. Jocks have sports Goths have Marilyn Manson Geeks have Star Trek and Monty Python Cool people have The Simpsons Stoners have different types of weed and stories of “How stoned they were that time.” ---
**Author:** ![ratty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ccd318/32.png) [@ratty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratty)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/13 "2002-12-11T16:48:21Z")
People who describe themselves as geeks often tend to have issues with not ‘fitting in’, whatever that may mean. Most geeks I know (who describe themselves as such) spend a lot of time railing against ‘mainstream’ society and culture. I think it has to do with re-affirming their geek status, and emphasizing that they belong in this particular group. If all of your immediate friends shout ‘Ni!’ and collapse in laughter, you start doing it, too. It becomes a group thing, in which all participants feel included and accepted. I think. It may also be a way to emphasize what they see as their perceived difference from mainstream culture. Not everyone knows where ‘Ni!’ comes from, and geeks seem to delight in playing the “I-know-something-you-don’t-know” game. This is most likely a totally ridiculous example, but it’s the best I can come up with: in old movies, Communists were always heard to call each other ‘comrade’. This was a shorthand to let everyone know that they were Communists, belonged to a group, and were privy to information or experience that you, as a non-group-member, were not. (Note: I have no idea if real-life Communists wandered around calling each other ‘comrade’.) ---
**Author:** ![Morgainelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Morgainelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgainelf)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/14 "2002-12-11T16:53:09Z")
OK - let’s get this straight. References to 42 and “Ni” are not intended as geek humour. They are the secret handshake. I may be kicked out of the club for telling y’all, but basically this is how we recognize each other. Yes, we both may look like reasonable, business-like adults. But if someone says, “What IS the meaning of life” and you mutter “42” under your breath, you are instantly my ally. Everyone else will look at you as though you’re a moron, but I got the joke and will say something about dolphins. This is the golden unspoken rule of the geeks. ---
**Author:** ![Morgainelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Morgainelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgainelf)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/15 "2002-12-11T16:54:42Z")
**ratty** , excellent simulpost. ---
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/16 "2002-12-11T18:10:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KidCharlemagne \* > \*\*Geeks have … Monty Python > > Cool people have The Simpsons\*\* Does this mean I’m a cool geek or a geeky cool person? Believe me, among the college-age population there’s a lot of crossover between the compulsive _Simpsons_ and Monty Python quoters. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/17 "2002-12-11T18:11:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KidCharlemagne \* > \*\*Geeks have Star Trek and Monty Python > > Cool people have The Simpsons \*\* Which means my circle is full of Cool Geeks. Of course, I already knew that. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/18 "2002-12-11T18:17:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by photopat \* > \*\*Which means my circle is full of Cool Geeks. > > Of course, I already knew that. \*\* Same here… Although I do have to say that there are many, many more lines to use from Monty Python and HHGG than the two examples in the OP. Along this vein, I would have to also ask what is so flipping funny about farting? I know people, tend to not be geeks, who giggle every time they, or someone else, farts. Doesn’t that joke get old? ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/19 "2002-12-11T18:22:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Morgainelf \* > \*\*OK - let’s get this straight. References to 42 and “Ni” are not intended as geek humour. They are the secret handshake. I may be kicked out of the club for telling y’all, but basically this is how we recognize each other. > > Yes, we both may look like reasonable, business-like adults. But if someone says, “What IS the meaning of life” and you mutter “42” under your breath, you are instantly my ally. Everyone else will look at you as though you’re a moron, but I got the joke and will say something about dolphins. > > This is the golden unspoken rule of the geeks. \*\* Is this sort of like the secret handshakes of the Masons as exhibited so accurately by Cleese et al.? (Does this make me a geek?) ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014/20 "2002-12-11T20:04:42Z")
That’s sort of like asking if certain posters ever get tired of asking inane questions on message boards. Apparently the answer is “no.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-geeky-people-ever-tire-of-their-repetitious-brand-of-humor/142014.md?page=2)