Geek vs Nerd

13/05/2006

How would you differentiate between a geek and a nerd? The geeks and nerds themselves do not agree with most definitions, for some obvious reasons, and some say that the dictionaries are wrong.

geek
n.slang

  • A person regarded as foolish, inept or clumsy
  • A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept.
  • A carnival performer whose show consists of bizarre acts, such as biting the head off a live chicken.

nerd also nurd
n.slang

  • A foolish, inept, or unattractive person.
  • A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept.

If you look into the dictionary a geek or a nerd is probably the last person you would ever want to become. They are said to be foolish, clumsy, single-minded and socially inept.

The big deal here is that these two terms are normally associated with ‘computer’ type people, and the terms are often misused. If there existed a mass murderer, who only thinks of killing people and who also makes stupid mistakes while at it, nobody will call him a geek or a nerd - but his description perfectly fits the definition. But if there was a guy who always overclocked his processors, had long hair and who also happens to have written a few programs - he would be called a geek (or a nerd), no matter how outgoing he was.

A geek is said to be a more social nerd. The unwritten real world definition says that nerds are people who get obsessed over things, usually mechanical or electronic devices and objects used as tools in the real world. Not just that, it also includes comic books, action figures, games, weapons, cars, etc. A nerd’s obsession may span across many things, from the minute details about the inner workings of a certain gadgent - say the trigger mechanism of a high tech weapon. Nerds know them all with all the details and they know the flaws and ways in which it can be made better. Nerds will spend a lot of their time learning about these, and they do experiments on their own. Most of these experiements are carried for the sake of personal satisfaction rather than for social or economic benifits.

In my opinion, the nerd description is used and should be used up to that point. The success rate may differ, and it is usually ignored and not taken into consideration when using the terms. For example Bill Gates was (and still is) a nerd - the rest of the world would agree. Call him foolish, inept and clumsy - but at the end of the day he has more money than anybody else.

A geek has a narrower interest span than a nerd. A geek is extremely good at one thing and also knows a bit more than average about many other interests he or she might have. A geek is also more outgoing and more social than nerds. A geek is more ’self oriented’ while a nerd is ‘interest oriented’. A geek may give up or switch to some other interest if there are benifits in it, but a nerd will not - if he did he would fall under the geek definition.

The terms nerd and geek used to be abusive terms used to insult these certain types of people. But nowadays it is more like an achievement of some kind. Hmm.

There are 30 comments in this article:

  1. 14/05/2006Inash Zubair say:

    Well. Here is what my dictionary says:

    Geek:
    1. A carnival performer who does disgusting acts.
    2. A person with an unusual or odd personality.

    Nerd:
    An insignificant student who is ridiculed as being affected or studying excessively.

    And so your statement “A geek is more ’self oriented’ while a nerd is ‘interest oriented’” perfectly fits the definitions.

  2. 14/05/2006gwynciar say:

    the otaku, eh?

  3. 14/05/2006leeg say:

    UKians (in my experience) tend to use "geek" to mean "one who has keen interest in computers, telephony, science fiction etc" and "nerd" to mean "a geek too far". The dictionary I have to hand (admittedly a US-English dictionary, had I read you at work I’d have the full English OED available) does include the definition "a person with an eccentric devotion to a particular interest" which is a more general version of the way geek’s normally used here. The same dictionary has a definition of nerd thus: "an intelligent, single-minded expert in a particular technical discipline or profession". Which again, is a fair description of the actual usage.

    If your dictionary definition of a word and its common usage differ, it’s almost certainly the dictionary at fault. But try telling ‘em that on slashdot ;-)

  4. 14/05/2006ramanan say:

    In my day, a geek was someone who bit the heads of live chickens, and that’s the way we liked it.

  5. 14/05/2006Mike Purvis say:

    I’m with Inash Zubair and leeg on this. I think of nerd as more derogatory, and geek as almost complementary. (at least in a self-deprecating humour kind of way…)

  6. 14/05/2006erin say:

    Quote: If there existed a mass murderer, who only thinks of killing people and who also makes stupid mistakes while at it, nobody will call him a geek or a nerd - but his description perfectly fits the definition.

    I don’t think killing people really qualifies as a “scientific or technical pursuit”, so the definition doesn’t really fit.

  7. 15/05/2006Michael Z. say:

    The latest edition of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary doesn’t even have the circus freak definition any more. The etymology is simply stated as geck, meaning fool.

    This discussion would qualify as meta-nerdery.

  8. 15/05/2006Peter of the Norse say:

    The main reason I prefer nerd is that it was coined by Dr. Seuss: “And then, just to show them, I’ll sail to Ka-Troo And Bring Back an It-Kutch a Preep and a Proo a Nerkle a Nerd and a Seersucker, too!” from If I Ran the Zoo. I know it’s not the best reason, but it certainly beats being compaired to the person at a freak show without ant real skills, just the ability to bite the head off a chicken.

  9. 15/05/2006Hawk Wings » Blog Archive » Know yourself: Geek or nerd? say:

    [...] A post on progressive: what the blog? explores the semantics of geeks and nerds. [...]

  10. 15/05/2006Conrad say:

    I find the whole “definitions of geek and nerd” argument pretty geeky! ;)

  11. 16/05/2006Krishna say:

    I find this all rather silly.

    ..but a good use[waste] of a few minutes.

  12. 16/05/2006Mac Web Design » MacTheWeb » Geev vs. Nerd say:

    [...] Ever wonder what the difference is? Look no further. Here’s the answer to this age old question. Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]

  13. 16/05/2006Derek K. Miller say:

    It seems to me that “geek” is more widely used. Let’s try a Googlefight:

    http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=geek&word2=nerd

    Geek - 120,000,000
    Nerd - 34,100,000

    Both, I think, are examples of the same kinds of “take back the word” usage found with “queer” or “nigga” — attempts by groups (in this case, techies) — to take the power out of derogatory terms aimed at them by using those words, sometimes ironically, in a friendly way.

    Since “nerd” came to public awareness in its computery sense longer ago (think “Revenge of the Nerds”), it now seems a bit quaint. Robert X. Cringely can get away with calling his show NerdTV, but largely because he’s interviewing mostly historical figures.

    In current usage, it seems that we’re more likely to call ourselves geeks. Plus it’s a funnier word, and for now it seems the one to use within the geek community. That may change, but nerd appears passe to me.

  14. 16/05/2006Matt MacKenzie » Geek vs. Nerd say:

    [...] I came across this article that discusses the difference between “geek” and “nerd”. I have noticed that many folks use the work geek as a positive adjective for themselves…possibly because they associate nerdiness with eccentricity, and geekiness with technical prowess. If they knew geekiness had more to do with being a circus freak than a hacker…I wonder what work they would actually choose? [...]

  15. 17/05/2006Still not cool. : Subtle distinctions say:

    [...] I spend a good deal of time and energy interrogating the increasingly offhanded invocation of the terms “geek” and “nerd.” I’m glad I’m not the only one. [...]

  16. 18/05/2006R Bias say:

    This is 100% opposite of my experience. The entire ‘geek’ culture at UCSC was reasonably socially adept and looked down on ‘nerds’. And the parties were … well, let’s just say I can’t give any details, but they definitely weren’t ‘nerdy’.

  17. 22/05/2006Hmmm say:

    I don’t think ‘geek’ or ‘nerd’ will ever be empowered. How about calling geeks technical wonks instead?

  18. 24/05/2006joel say:

    I side on the geek as a positive, nerd as a negative.

    In Aus, I’ve never heard of a “theatre nerd” or “movie nerd”, but have more than once heard references to “theatre geeks”, “movie geeks”, “tech geeks” etc when referring to someone who’s passionate about a particular subject.

    Geek forever, nerd never.

  19. 27/05/2006l33t say:

    U all are fuckin NERDS and GEEKS!!!

  20. 28/06/2006change() or die(); //c.o.d. » Blog Archive » Geek vs Nerd say:

    [...] http://www.primary0.com/2006/05/13/geek-vs-nerd/ How would you differentiate between a geek and a nerd? The geeks and nerds themselves do not agree with most definitions, for some obvious reasons, and some say that the dictionaries are wrong. geek n.slang [...]

  21. 30/06/2006k. say:

    why have you forsaken the dork? nerd, geek, and dork exist in a beautiful triangular relationship.

  22. 2/07/2006triticale say:

    As I understand it, a dork (the word originally was a genital reference) has the lack of social skills and coordination without the technical interest.

  23. 5/07/2006Mac say:

    We are all geeks :)

  24. 5/08/2006windows say:

    and he’s a nurd without glasses! :P

  25. 25/08/2006randommemberofthehumanrace say:

    The meaning of these words seem to differ greatly according to one’s geographical location. I have, for example, always experienced geeks as people with an obsession about something, say, computer gaming or comic books, slightly lacking in maturity, and, quite reticent. A nerd (again, in my experience) is often more intellectually inclined, and has singular focus in the pursuit of knowledge on various subjects. A nerd, in short, is more of an extremely devoted scholar, be it a scholar of mathematics, or literature, or programming, etcetera etcetera. A geek, on the other hand, would be more of a “fanboy”. With this I mean no slight toward those who consider themselves geeks. Having any particular interest is not bad in its own right, and, well, maturity comes with age (usually). Also, a person *can* be *both* a geek and a nerd. I know quite a few who are. I am so myself.

    Just my words of wisdom(?)

  26. 16/09/2006Steven say:

    For me, the definitions of geek and nerd come from Douglas Coupland’s Microserfs - where they’re basically the same thing, except a geek has useful skills and knowledge while a nerd doesn’t.

    I wrote a short paper on it in college, even. Ha.

  27. 13/10/2006NerdStarGamer » Blog Archive » Nerd vs. Geek say:

    [...] Geek vs Nerd [...]

  28. 4/02/2007Sam say:

    It Dont Mean They Unattractive! But Most Of Them Are So Not Gonna Argue:P

  29. 7/02/2007316 say:

    Nerd - Would build a robot to compensate for his lack of sexual activity

    Geek - Would consider buying a robot built by the nerd

    Dork - Whaaaaaah!?!?!?!… What is the robot for?

  30. 26/02/2007Sometimes say:

    Interesting that you refer to geeks, nerds and dorks as exclusively male. I am a female nerd :P

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