Difference Between Nerds & Geeks...

pelvis_3

pelvis_3

HWF Member For Life
I have always wondered what the difference is between Nerds and Geeks?

I don't know why, but i consider myself a Geek. When i think of the word 'Nerd', i picture lots of sociably inept pimply 14'Yr olds at StarTrek conventions wearing their favourite caracters costume. But when i think 'Geek', i picture just a regular
person, single minded, has friends and is generally "smarter than your average bear" kind of person!

What do you think the difference is?
 
This i'm not too sure about. Sometimes I prefer "nerds" than geeks but depends on my mood. Usually, nerds are more into general tech and role playing games type IMO, but geeks are more of hacking away code at 2am. meh.
 
Yeah I don't consider myself a 'nerd' because I picture them as sitting in Science labs and like pelvis_3 said going to Star Trek Conventions...myself I consider myself as a geek...although I'm not like Addis said and I don't sit up 'til 2am hacking...
 
I've always considered there to be a vast difference between nerds and geeks. Nerds are those star trek people and are in the math and chess club and have pocket protectors and the such.
Geeks, on the other hand, I exclusively relate to computers. In other words, we are geeks. We can look and sound like normal human beings, but are infatuated with computers and/or games.
Wikipedia has a definition for both (I chose my prefered definition):
Geek- A person who is interested in technology, especially computing and new media (considered derogatory by some). Comparable with the classic definition of hacker. Late 20th century and early 21st century
Nerd- Nerd, as a stereotypical or archetypal designation, refers to people of above-average intelligence whose interests (often in science and mathematics) are not shared by mainstream society.
 
i dont consider my self a nerd of geek, but at college, my freinds take tha piss outa me for having an intrest in computers and knowing stuff about computers :(, seems like i will have to give up my intrest in computers.
 
Give up your interest in computers! Never, think of the money you can save by knowing something about computers, I've saced people (friends and family) money because they've come to me for help rather than going to computer repair shops etc...why change like that because other people think you should?!
 
becouse i will get nerrrrrrrrdddddddddd, geeeeeeeeeeeek, retardddd, off em on msn, and em calling me nerd, geek, retard at college, and it wont stop, yet someone takes the piss outa me for knowing stuff about computers, and yet he knows more than me, but as there carrying on at moment, i think i have lost em as freinds now, college strted going uphill, now its going downhill at 500mph.
 
What? calling you retarded because you have an interest in computers?

I wouldn't care what anyone said, computers is what I like, and if they don't like it screw them.

Good description Fred, I am a geek too, definately not into Star Trek. Can't stand it. Really.

I also earn money from fixing computers every now and again. Saves them money aswell.
 
yeah my friends never call me a computer geek, and if anyone did then I would laugh because I'm the person people come to when computer stuff goes wrong :P

Yeah I made some money out of it, not a lot because I usually do it for free...
 
i dont know why they take the piss outa me, coz if they spent a day just messing with computer hardware, and looking on forums, they would get into computers.
 
I wouldn't class myself as either in terms of looks and voice, nothing stereotypical about my persona, other than that I don't usually get a sun tan :P

Sure I spend the vast majority of my spare time, and college time at a computer, whcih would imply a geek, and I have a love of gadgets and technology. I play CSS a lot, and some RPGS, but would never take it to pro level, or find myself at a convention...although a CSS LAN party, I would quite happily consider.

Like Matt said, I too often have to help out family and friends, and they often ask for advice, and I often come here to find advice for them, but I've made some money out of it.

I've been classed as "Geek-Chic" by some girl-friends, which to me sounds pretty good...I'm a cool geek :D

Makes you happy, go for it, regardless of sterotypes or what others think, thats my ideology. And Fred's definition summed it up pretty well.
 
"Geekyness" isn't about what you look like, but your character. I don't look pretty normal with the people around me. My looks and hair are far superior. Damn I want an afro...

However, science and mathematics is iffy with me. I like physics, cosmology and the different theories like relativity, quantum mechanics and superstring do interest me but maths is not my thing. So really only a specific part of science is my type.
 
I recon

Geek = Anorac. Someone who is heavily into a single hoby or interest.
Basically like most of us forum dwellers.

Nerd = Sado. A social misfit who has weird interests and generaly finds it hard to find common interests with the rest of the human kind.

As AT acurately pointed out - pulling power definitly reside more with the geek as he can wow the girls with his knowledge and, somtimes, looks.

For comparison:

Jeoff Goldbloom = Geek.
Bevis and Butthead = Mega nerds.

Brad Pit and the likes = Mega dude and way over of our league
 
willhub said:
i dont consider my self a nerd of geek, but at college, my freinds take tha piss outa me for having an intrest in computers and knowing stuff about computers :(, seems like i will have to give up my intrest in computers.
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You see, I dont give people the opportunity to make fun of me for being a geek. First off, I dont actually LOOK different than anyone else at school (except for the Firefox, Slashdot, etc), and secondly - I point out my geekiness before they even get a chance; Not to mention the fact that I'm proud of it. Basically, if someone makes fun of me for being a "geek," I just consider beating them to death ;) and stop talking to them until they call me and with a sad voice say, "I got another virus and I need you to fix my box with all the plastic and stuff inside.. Can you please do it? I'll kiss your toes!" And so as you can see, they usually end out submitting to my superiority. Yeah, so I wouldn't worry about them making fun of you. If you stop messing with computers just because someone else is too stupid to realize that you do far more good for society than their burger-flipping will ever do, then you will never be satisfied with your life. Yep, so there's my rant!
Waffle said:
I wouldn't class myself as either in terms of looks and voice, nothing stereotypical about my persona, other than that I don't usually get a sun tan
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Face it, Waffle, you're a complete geek! You dont have to be embarrassed about it... you're among friends.
 
Yeah I too think of geeks as being technology buffs and little more. If someone says "man you look geeky" chances are they could just as easily have substituted the word 'nerdy' in for 'geeky' and gotten the same point across. Most people obvioulsly don't think of a nerd and geek as being different and probably use the terms interchangably.
I would concider a nerd to be far more broad. It could refer to a socially inept teen with braces, a graphing calculator in each pocket, and a Visual Basics by his bedstand. Or it could be the guy who offers private Dungeons and Drangons tutoring in your town. In otherwords, as many of you have said, someone who engages in activities that most of society avoids or misunderstands.
 
Exfoliate said:
Yeah I too think of geeks as being technology buffs and little more. If someone says "man you look geeky" chances are they could just as easily have substituted the word 'nerdy' in for 'geeky' and gotten the same point across. Most people obvioulsly don't think of a nerd and geek as being different and probably use the terms interchangably.
I would concider a nerd to be far more broad. It could refer to a socially inept teen with braces, a graphing calculator in each pocket, and a Visual Basics by his bedstand. Or it could be the guy who offers private Dungeons and Drangons tutoring in your town. In otherwords, as many of you have said, someone who engages in activities that most of society avoids or misunderstands.
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Yeah, you're right about the idea of the two words being interchangable in society, but just because people use them either way, doesn't mean the way they use them is correct. For example... what do you think of when you hear the word "hacker?" You would usually think of someone breaking into somebody's network or the such. However, the proper term for that type of person is actually cracker. A term hacker derived from the idea of a person managing to "hack" some code together, such as in the workplace. A hacker is usually just somebody who is interested in code... Hope that makes sense. My point is that I very much stand by my definition of geek and nerd. I hate the idea of there being no distinction between those weirdos with the "calculators in their pockets" and people like us, who like computers and games and I would even include hackers and crackers and otherwise look like normal human beings. For example, at college today, a female person told me that she had no idea that I was a geek when she first met me (even though I'm sure I was wearing some geeky shirt), but instead just thought I was some slacker (which is actually pretty true). Umm... I talk too much :x:
 
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