Comments on: Geeks and Nerds

By: Douglas

Douglas — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 03:40:20 +0000

Nerdy things: math, science, intelligence, intellectualism, skill, computers, philosophy, studying too much, grammar Nazism, glasses, single-mindedness, research, …
Geeky things: role-playing, video games, Magic: The Gathering, Hot Pockets, obesity, comparing HIDs, arguing about topics despite lack of knowledge, LAN parties, WoW, …
That’s my definition, at least.

By: jollyrogerwilco

jollyrogerwilco — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:50:57 +0000

Before this week, my favorite webcomic to touch on this subject was:

http://catandgirl.com/?p=1341

By: Emma

Emma — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:08:11 +0000

I agree that only geeks/nerds really care about the difference.
In my mind (though I wouldn’t say I have strong feelings about the difference):

Nerd: bookish, smart, good in school, often socially awkward
Geek: has unpopular hobby (computers, D&D, video games), often social awkward.

And both would apply to me.
-E

By: Bama Cracker

Bama Cracker — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:03:00 +0000

Well, the joke made me laugh for this reason. . . ONLY Geeks and/or Nerds have strong opinions regarding the difference. Everyone who falls outside the two circles of the comic think Geeks and Nerds are the same.

It’s also unusual that no one has mentioned the dictionary definitions:

Geek: a) awkward person
b) obcessive computer user
c) outrageous carnival performer

Nerd: a) offensive term to deliberately insult someone’s physical appearance or social skills.
b) single-minded enthusiast

Whereby we can combine the “B” defintion for each and define all nerds as geeks, but not all geeks are nerds.

By: William O. B'Livion

William O. B'Livion — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:28:05 +0000

The difference between Geeks and Nerds is that Geeks have had someone *else* help them achieve orgasm…

By: whoosh_noise

whoosh_noise — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 11:13:20 +0000

so if you know all about geeks you are a ‘geek nerd’?

By: Aster

Aster — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 03:30:10 +0000

geek – someone obsessive, or someone who spends all their time on something. A computer geek does not leave the computer. (This is the original old version definition of geek I think – what comes to mind is the Japanese “otaku”, although I’m referring to the bad-connotation societal scourge version, not the weeaboo animu-obsessed version).
nerd – someone who knows a lot about a topic to the point where it’s the only thing they’re good at
geek AND nerd – me

By: Church

Church — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 02:02:54 +0000

My personal definition is that “Nerds are smart, geeks know a lot, and dorks argue the difference.” (There was a webcomic recently that phrased it almost exactly the same way, but I can’t find it now.)

Jason Tocci over at geekstudies.org collects these kinds of distinctions, and he has a bunch of blog posts regarding them. It’s quite interesting.
http://www.geekstudies.org/about

By: Schmo

Schmo — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 01:38:04 +0000

I think the joke is on you if you have an opinion on the difference between geeks and nerds. Basic circle diagram rules means you are both a geek and nerd. Sorry.