I just finished reading Cryptonomicon and its prequel trilogy, The Baroque Cycle, by Neal Stephenson, one of my favorite science fiction authors.  These novels are a celebration of geekdom.  The protagonists are heavily weighted toward scientists, natural philosophers, theoretical mathematicians, and computer programmers.  Individuals like Alan Turing, Isaac Newton, Robert Hooke, and Christopher Wren play major roles in these stories.  Even the dashing heroes usually wind up fairly disfigured, as dashing heroism usually leads to irreparable bodily harm, in the real-ish world. 

Not only are Stephenson's hero geeks, well, heroes, they are also likable people that one can admire.  And, they usually get the girl.   

Is being a geek the new black?  Cryptonomicon was a New York Times bestseller.  Glasses are now a fashion statement.  Popular television shows like Mythbusters,  Beauty and the Geek, and The Big Bang Theory each celebrate the geek stereotype to different degrees.  Why shouldn't it be cool?  Intellectual attributes may be the most important characteristics for success in our modern society.  Popular, wealthy, power brokers, like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, are geeks.  Richard Branson, founder of Virgin and owner of his own island, is a geek who can afford the trappings of style.

Are geeks becoming cool?  Of course, I like to think so, but, then, I am a professional geek and have always been cool.  Just ask my mom.