Geek humor or geek humour, also known as nerd humor, is a form of comedy that relies on references to geek culture.
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By the strictest definition, geek humor is a branch of humor that encompasses the interest ranges of individuals who are either known as geeks or consciously identify as such by choice. Although geek humor may borrow elements from other forms of humor, most other forms of humor are not necessarily defined by topic but by delivery, such as play on words, sarcasm, deadpan, or dry humor.
As a result, geek humor typically contains "inside jokes" that may not be understood by those outside of the subculture. While not necessarily always intellectual in nature, geek humor exhibits heavy reliance on jargon and references that would not be understood by one who is unfamiliar with the topic or genre of interest (example: references or homages to Star Wars, use of gaming jargon such as pwn, or terminology rarely used outside scientific circles). Geek humor also makes heavy use of memes.
Geek related topics tend to appeal only to certain niche groups. In certain cases, genres or topics may have gained a mainstream recognition while still retaining elements familiar only to so-called "serious" or "hardcore" fans or enthusiasts. Examples include computers, comic books, science fiction, and gaming, all of which are at least casually familiar to the mainstream through general public exposure but still possess esoteric elements familiar to those who are more deeply engrossed in the subject. For example, it is very common for Americans to at least recognize Star Wars and Star Trek as prominent pop-culture multimedia science fiction franchises even if they do lack trivial knowledge or don't even understand the premise of either. Thus, humor generated from within certain inside circles will appear obscure to those who have only a casual interest. Within the culture, this is often used as a tactic to establish one's identity as a hardcore enthusiast or identify others as such. Geeks may not understand humor from other circles of topical interest unless they have overlapping interests.
"There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don't."
"There's no place like 127.0.0.1".
"Why is Scott Tissue like the Starship Enterprise?" "Because it goes around Uranus searching for Klingons."
"Doctor Doctor, I feel like an alpha particle" "Are you sure?" "I'm positive!"
"A neutrino walks into a bar. The neutrino asks 'how much is a beer?' The bartender says 'for you, no charge!'"
"What did the gigabyte say to the hard drive?" "Come on and boot it up."
"What's tiny and yellow and very, very, dangerous?" "A canary with the super-user password."
"There was a party where all math functions were having a good time. But, standing alone by the corner, there was e^x and he was not having the same good time. Then ∂x and ∫ came to him, and asked him to integrate himself into the party: "C'mon dude, integrate with us." To which e^x replied: "Why bother? It would make no difference."