20 things that make Dr. Sheldon Cooper TV’s biggest geek

There seem to be more geeks on American television than at any time in the past. A few of these characters, including Abby Sciuto and Timothy McGee from NCIS, are memorable, but for me, Dr. Sheldon Cooper is one geek who stands out. If you’ve ever watched The Big Bang Theory, you’ll probably agree with me (many TechRepublic members do agree, according to our recent Geekend poll). If you haven’t seen the sitcom, here is my top 20 list (in no particular order) as to why Sheldon is the biggest geek on television.

1. Sheldon is an obsessive fan of comic books and science fiction. This goes a long way in explaining the restraining orders from Stan Lee and Leonard Nimoy.
2. Sheldon not only has an extensive comic book collection, but he is fully aware of its contents.
3. Like any true Star Trek fan, Sheldon has strong feelings concerning Will Wheaton, or as he is referred to in The Big Bang Theory, Evil Will Wheaton. (Photo credit: CBS Corp.)
4. His job is researching String Theory — can you get any geekier?
5. He has a large collection of geeky tee-shirts, which are so memorable that there is now a website about Sheldon’s shirts.
6. He possesses obscure geek knowledge, such as the location of the retroreflectors on the Moon’s surface.
7. Although he isn’t an engineer, the Oompa-Loompas of science, Sheldon does participate in robot combat.
8. In season three, Sheldon’s laptop of choice is an Alienware M17x, the ultimate geek laptop.
9. Sheldon computed the optimal seating position in his apartment and his neighbor Penny’s apartment.
10. Sheldon is the person to see when questing in MMORPGs, such as Age of Conan.
11. Sheldon doesn’t play the normal version of the word game Boggle — he plays Klingon Boggle.
12. Even though he wasn’t born when Adam West played the role of Batman, Sheldon is a fan.
13. Sheldon is no stranger to arguing with experts on any subject. An example of this is when he accused the local Chinese restaurant of serving orange chicken instead of tangerine chicken.
14. Sheldon dabbles in lasers, so much so that the government supposedly took away one of his lasers and the hushed witnesses.
15. He gave a Physics Department Paintball Strategy Meet, which serves as an example of “geekifying” everything that he touches.
16. Caffeine has a pronounced effect on Sheldon, even if he does consider it a gateway drug.
17. He owns his own Flash costume, complete with muscles!
18. Sheldon possesses a master’s degree and two PhDs.
19. Like most of the people who visit TechRepublic, Sheldon tries to explain to his family what he does for a living, but it doesn’t help.
20. Sheldon measures both the liquid input and output of his body, so be careful when looking for a measuring cup for making pancakes.

What are your favorite Sheldon geek traits? Let me know in the discussion.

Disclaimer: The Big Bang Theory is a CBS show; TechRepublic is a CBS Interactive site.
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