“Techie” or "tekkie" not to be confused with "trekkie" although there is a lot of overlap... Appropriate for a Sunday – for those “worshiping” at aterminal - the new “altar” so to speak, not to mention a further tek-surprise (below) … Techie is a ostensibly a derivative of the word “technology,” describing a person who displays intense or even obsessive interest in technology. The recent focus of techie obsession is computers, but before that it was hot-rod automobiles, and then aerospace. But with specialization in a number of diverse tech-based fields, especially forensics (due to TV popularity of CSI and the its spin-offs) there are techie ‘nerds’ and ‘geeks’ turning up everywhere and in all age groups– even old ones like moi. Anywhere there is a wideband connection and a quasi-religious shared purpose for "progress" you can find the same kind of intent that was once the exclusive domain of the weird guys in itchy robes. I learned today, befittingly, that the Greek term "tekton", which is argualby the original original derivation of " techie" - has most often been translated from Scriptures as "carpenter" - such as to describe the trade of Joseph and his son... is that a curious synchronicity, or what.
BUT to the chagrin of some, the word signified:“one who works with his hands, most often a builder or mason.” From the word alone, "tekton", there is no indication of the exact kind of work Joseph did. It is not clear if carpenter is a mistranslation or not – but the New Testament was composed hundreds of years "after the fact", and translated in Europe where there are lots of trees. IOW - Tekton doesn't necessarily pinpoint carpentry, which after all, is rare in a land with few trees, but like everything else taught "Sunday school" you must take much of it on faith, not logic. And that is why the "new religions", like computers, are able to steal adherents- by attracting those intense, bright minds - those who even a a young age, are no longer content with taking things on 'faith' alone. This is among the most important of the many paradigm shifts brought in by the 'information age' for better or for worse. The further root derivative of tekton is "timoria", which is usually translated as "vindication" (justification against denial or censure); and in that sense is appropriate for a forum of techies (akak votticians) who feel the need for vindication from a ‘superior’ class that has turned a blind eye to their efforts and discoveries ;-) Timoria, in turn, is derived from the root "timorio", which means "to protect one's honor; and the chain continues with the next root syllable - "tim(e)", which means a “value”… which complicates things, since it does not refer to time. The Greek word from time is usually spelled "chronos", but nevertheless the adage that “time is money” fits in well to the mix of 'value wrt duration'. That being the case, “techie” is my "time is money tithe" for this Sunday…. Jones
