Top 50 Geeks 1-25 (Part 1 of 2)

Geek: gek, n (slang ) A misfit, a rebel, sometimes a troublemaker. 'While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius' (Apple Computer advertising campaign, 1997);

Compiled by Teddy Jamieson and Susan Swarbrick

In the year 2005, it might be just about possible to remember a time when being called a "geek" was insulting. A time when wearing glasses, being interested in computers or being a little different came with a derogatory label. Maybe even now there are still some schoolyard jocks and bullies calling their brighter brethren "nerds" - but if so they are motivated more by fear than any feeling of superiority.

The simple fact is that these days, to paraphrase Gordon Gecko, "geek is good". As Neil Feineman points out in his new book Geek Chic (Thames & Hudson, pounds-12.95), geeks are the gatekeepers of the new global economy. Even Paris Hilton, Feineman reminds us, has called herself a "closet geek". That someone so plastic should seek to associate herself with the world's geeks says everything about the rise of this new meritocracy. Today it helps to be different, and the term is not so much an insult as an approbation. That's why over the next 19 pages we have decided to celebrate our favourite 50 geek gods and goddesses.

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5. SIMON PEGG
Couch potato

If you require further proof of the rise of the geeks, consider the career of Simon Pegg. A former stand-up comedian and massive Star Wars fan, Pegg teamed up with Jessica Stevenson to write Spaced, a sitcom about a group of slacker mates sitting in front of the telly and playing computer games. It was a big enough success to allow him to make a movie, Shaun of the Dead, a "zom-rom-com" that featured a couple of slacker mates playing video games and watching the telly (and fighting the odd zombie). It proved to be an even bigger success. So now Pegg is godfather to Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter Apple, and appearing as a zombie in George Romero's new Land of the Dead movie. Result.

He says: "I used to lie in bed in my flat and imagine what would happen if there was a zombie attack. In fact, Nick Frost [who also appears in Shaun of the Dead] and I used to plan our escape routes if it happened."

Look out for: A long mooted sitcom for Channel 4 called La Triviata, coming not desperately soon.

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