In an age where honesty makes way for cautious pandering, Brian Cox can be relied upon to state what he sees as truth. Whilst this can be seen as rude, he's humorous and amiable with his personality ensuring his words do not cause offense to those he's talking with. This balance of honesty and courtesy is something all geeks should aspire to as we conduct ourselves and present out passions.
Before his career in physics, Brian was in the band D:Ream, which aids in increasing his popularity and removing the "stuffy professor" image often associated with science.
D:Ream are most famous for their hit, Things Can Only Get Better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIj-6fr2SlI
Some of the language used by Brian isn't appropriate for younger audiences, so depending on the age of your children and sensitivities of your philosophies, you may need to vet content before recommending it.
Wheaton's law: "Don't be a Dick" is both a rule for conducting yourself on the internet, and on how to live your life in general. This term was coined by and named after Wil Wheaton, and is often quoted in discussions of community sites when people see it being violated.
Wil's work in the Star Trek series has made him an incredibly successful actor. Despite this he remains grounded, encouraging and engaging with his fans, and using his success to help raise the profiles of others.
OK, so homebrew may not be the best hobby for the younger geeks, but it does show an interest in being creative, recognising value in craft, and enjoying the fruits of your labour; all positive values we should encourage in children.
Some of the language used by Wil isn't appropriate for younger audiences, so depending on the age of your children and sensitivities of your philosophies, you may need to vet content before recommending it.
Palin's travel series' have taken him to places all over the world. Travel helps to catalyse a person's culture, along with improving their acceptance and awareness of other cultures.
His sense of humour is appropriate for younger audiences. A good sense of humour is definitely a trait to be encouraged, as it aids empathy when done right.
A lot of Tim's comedy is based around self-deprecation of his geekier side. Having someone so talented talk themselves down encourages people to realise that their own shortcomings may be their misperceptions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP9pnSXhibw
Tim Minchin can simplify his thoughts to bullet point jokes, and expresses these through some creative ways including comedy, music and beat poems:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGuXCuDb1U
Some of the language used by Tim isn't appropriate for younger audiences, so depending on the age of your children and sensitivities of your philosophies, you may need to vet content before recommending it.
One common trope found throughout Felicia's work is the theme of self-acceptance. As a child Felicia had always been encouraged to be an A grade pupil, making her a perfectionist and thus unproductive. As she learnt to accept that "just good enough" was good enough her productivity shot up and her life changed for the better. This was the realisation of who she was, rather than her attempting to live up to the aspirations of others; and thus far surpassing them.
Felicia is one of the founders of the Geek and Sundry YouTube channel. Through this channel she's used her popularity and fame to put a spotlight on other aspiring geeks, artists and creators, allowing them to follow in her footsteps.
Felicia has been open and honest about how she got to where she is now, pointing out the good and bad points she's been through to get there, and giving out advice based on her experiences along that route.
Every geek needs a passion, and Felicia is no exception; though she is exceptional in the number of passions she's dedicated to. She's an avid reader of books and comics, plays a diverse range of computer games (some, such as SkyRim, obsessively), and immerses herself in many of the other geek culture she encounters.
Felicia may be more on the workaholic side of the scale than is healthy, but she recognises this and is learning to delegate and relax. Both of these traits (working hard & learning not to) are good traits in a role-model; showing people how to be successful, but also that there are other considerations if you want to get the most out of life.
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