08.29
Back in my early twenties I never really embraced the side of the person that I’ve basically turned into now. I almost fought it because I wasn’t sure I wanted to be that person but I always knew I had a little geek in me. I never really realized how much until about 4 some years ago.
So about 4 years ago when I realized what I was becoming I started to question myself… Was I a nerd or was I a geek? Because, internally, I knew the words meant different things. To the laymen geek and nerd are interchangeable but I believe to those of us that truly are on the inside of that know that there is a difference. I’ve been called nerd, geek and dork. I choose to leave dork out because I feel a “dork” is a nerdy/geeky joker. IE; dorky jokes.
Anyways, I used to consider myself more of a geek then anything. Why? I’m not exactly sure why but I felt the nerd class wasn’t for me. I felt they dealt in computers and went to conventions and had clubs they went to. I didn’t feel geeks did that. As the years went on I put the thought in the back of my mind for later ponderence. Its always been there though… What am I, a geek or a nerd?
Over the years times have changed since I was in high school and high school years and labels have been forgotten and less cared about. Its more or less accepted to be a geek or nerd these days and in some cases its even “in” to be one. Not because of but since this has happened and I’ve become there are a lot more of “us” out there I’ve more embraced that side. So that question came up again a few months ago, am I more of a geek or a nerd?
I figured I’d look into this. Visit some places and do a little reading(is that the ipitime of nerd to do a search on what a nerd is?), of course my first stop is at Wikipedias nerd article. I went there to originally compare the differences between nerd, geek and see what it had to saw about dork. Well I got exactly what I was looking for at the nerd article. I suggest you take a read on it, but I’ll steal the text I’m talking about. The following is from Wikipedias Nerd article on the differences between nerd and geek.
“Pundits and observers dispute the relationship of the terms nerd and geek to one another. Some view the geek as a less technically skilled nerd. Some factions maintain that nerds have both technical skills and social competence, whereas geeks display technical skills while socially incompetent; others hold an exactly reversed view, with geek serving as the socially competent counterpart of the socially incompetent nerd, and call themselves geeks with pride (compare Geekcorps, an organization that sends people with technical skills to developing countries to assist in computer infrastructure development). Another view is that geeks lack both social competency and technical skills. Arguably, a nerd is a more self-controlled sort of person, while a geek can be something of a loose cannonor at least more awkward in an obstructive way than a nerd.
Some regional differences may exist in the use of the words nerd and geek. Some claim that on the North American west coast the population prefers the term geek to nerd, while the North American east coast prefers the word nerd to geek (see Ellen Spertus’s page on The Sexiest Geek Alive).
The term “nerd” is broader in its significance than “geek”, defining a person’s entire way of life. A nerd has the tendency to pursue intellectual gratification at the expense of social or physical gratification. A geek, on the other hand, simply has an interest in a particular subject. This subject could be intellectual, such as the arts, theatre, classical music, technology, or mathematics, or it could be something less generally “useful”, such as movies, television, video games, anime, or even sports. Such a person may be perfectly well-rounded, merely showing a preference for his desired subject of interest. A nerd, on the other hand, is by definition not well-rounded. Thus the term “geek” should not generally be used or taken as an insult, while “nerd” might be in some cases (but certainly not all).
Similar terms exist which are always insulting; dork, dweeb, goon, and doofus are a few examples. Anorak is a similar British term. These terms imply the lack of social skill suggested by the term “nerd”, but imply none of the mitigating intellectual factors.
The word “nerd” refers to a person of “above-average intelligence” whose interests (often in science and mathematics) are not shared by mainstream society. By contrast, a “geek” is essentially a person who is fascinated, perhaps obsessively, by obscure or very specific areas of knowledge and imagination. A good example of this is found in an episode of the television show, “Married with Children.” The protagonist Al Bundy complains about wearing glasses, saying he’ll look like a nerd. His friend, Jefferson Darcy responds, “No Al you won’t be a nerd. You’re too dumb to be a nerd”
Thus a “nerd” is primarily marked as having a high intelligence and is not necessarily more fascinated with one subject any more so than another. A “geek”, however, is obsessively fascinated with particular subjects, but is not necessarily attributed an above average intelligence. Thus a “geek” has the compulsion and drive to learn vast quantities of knowledge about a particular field such as computers, or Star Trek trivia, without high intelligence being assumed. Some also hold that the reverse is true, geeks being those with high intelligence, and nerds being those who obsess over obscure subjects. More than likely, the main confusion between the terms comes from their common association with specific areas of knowledge that seem to require a high level intelligence (for example, mathematics and science). Thus a “geek” who was obsessed by the pursuit of mathematical or scientific knowledge, might also be classified as a “nerd” as society considers such pursuits to be intellectual in nature and as requiring high intelligence.”
Now.. I’ve also noticed a trend of things using the term geek, such as Geek Squad and Rent-a-Geek. I don’t want to assosciate myself with such corporate terminology as that, especially Geek Squad, double especially since they sold out to Best Buy and WAY overcharge for the simplest things like installing a hard drive or even “PC tune-ups.” I don’t believe in that BS.
So taking all of these things into consideration and my own questioning coming up again I would like to hereby announce that I feel I am, in fact a nerd. I prefer the term also for several reasons, one being someone calls me nerd and thinks nerds are hot and another reason nerd just sounds cooler then geek because geek just sounds.. awkward.
So I just thought I would share that revelation with anyone willing to read it. I wish you all a good day/night and that you live long and prosper.
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