According to the Times, flamboyant socks are all the rage among tech nerds in Silicon Valley these days. “It signals that you are part of the in crowd. It’s like a secret handshake for those who have arrived,” states the article. Hunter Walk, a 38-year-old director of product management at YouTube, explains further: “I have been in meetings where people look down and notice my socks, and there is this universal sign, almost like a gang sign, where they nod and pull up their pant leg a little to show off their socks.”