“What’s the difference between geek and nerd?” Vera muses.
It is a subject that is reconsidered every year.
“Oh, there’s definitely a difference,” Megan assures her.
“Yeah, well, Damjan told me off once for calling him a geek. ‘I’m not a geek! I’m a nerd. Get it right!’ ”
“Well,” I say, “I’m a square.”
“What’s a square?”
“Someone who’s a bit old-fashioned, follows the rules. Is a bit conservative, always punctual…” I do a double-take.
“That doesn’t sound like you, Joan…” Vera says doubtfully.
“Yeah. Are you sure, Joan?”
“Goodness.” I am flabbergasted. “I’m not like that anymore!”
“Did you call yourself a square in high school?”
“I used to be… Golly, I’ve changed!”
I thought “nerd” was more a study-oriented thing and geek had more to do with social ability…
Posted by Daniel
Yeah, Vera, get it right!
A nerd is someone who differentiates between ‘nerd’ and ‘geek’.
Posted by ftalk
So, what do you think you are, ftalk? Geek? Nerd? Square?
Cool? :D
Posted by Vera
Are you cool? what kind of a response were you after?
“yeah, I am like… totally the most modest person ever!”
What’s that called… a causal loop, or am I thinking of something else… a paradox?
Posted by Daniel
What about dork and dweeb? I assume that dorks and dweebs have the lack of social graces of perhaps some geeks and nerds, but none of the redeeming features (ie. superior brain power)?
Posted by joanium
Yes, you got that one right. As always, The Simpsons shows us the light – in one episode, Bart calls Milhouse a nerd, to which he replies “I’m not a nerd – nerds are smart”. Yes, I would say that a nerd without intelligence is a dweeb.
Just FYI, ‘dork’ actually means ‘penis’. More than a few authors of child-oriented material have got in trouble for using that word… :-)
Posted by rohan
My take on it:
Nerd: studious and intelligent. More to do with school/university work
Geek: hobby-related intelligence, usually somthing technological, and usually to do with computers
Nerds tend to be more likely to be shy and/or socially inept than geeks
Posted by joee
Good question! I think joee is probably right about the difference though. Hmmm… the definition of geek has definitely change over the years. Geeks these days are generally quite fashionable and have good social skills. Unfortunately, nerds have not evolved much.
Posted by belle
So the question is: does Damjan still want to be designated a ‘nerd’?
And Vera? I’m cool. (*rolls eyes*, in a cool way, of course)
Posted by ftalk
Joee’s definition rings true with me, too. I thought you could have ‘computer geeks’, ‘maths geeks’, ‘entomology geeks’ and ‘music geeks’. Basically, anyone passionate about something not mainstream (football, TV, clothes…)
So I thought geeks were cool 🙂
My vision of a nerd will always be Steve Urkel from the 80s show, Family Matters. In fact, there’s even a fan website called “I am Steve urkel and I am a SUPER NERD!!” So in my mind, nerds weren’t necessarily smart, they wore big glasses and high pants.
Posted by joanium
Daniel. Are you thinking of the social equivalent of “This statement is false” when you mention paradoxes and causal loops?
Hmmm… I like your “I am modest”; along the same lines, what about “I am humble”?
Posted by ftalk