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  3. Difference between Nerds and Geeks

Difference between Nerds and Geeks

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    Peter Reiter
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    Recently a friend and i got into the discussion of the difference between nerds and geeks I think that geeks are more the general technical persons (building, developing, etc.) and nerds are more the Heavy-Users He said that geeks are also the techincal, but nerds have certain knowledge on a specific topic What do you think?

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    • P Peter Reiter

      Recently a friend and i got into the discussion of the difference between nerds and geeks I think that geeks are more the general technical persons (building, developing, etc.) and nerds are more the Heavy-Users He said that geeks are also the techincal, but nerds have certain knowledge on a specific topic What do you think?

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      Bassam Abdul Baki
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      I would think it's just an age difference. In high school, smart kids would be nerds, but in college they'd be geeks. No such label in graduate school. :-D "For that one fraction of a second, you were open to options you would never have considered. That is the exploration that awaits you. Not mapping stars and studying nebula, but charting the unknown possibilities of existence." - Q (Star Trek: The Next Generation) ^ Blog

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      • P Peter Reiter

        Recently a friend and i got into the discussion of the difference between nerds and geeks I think that geeks are more the general technical persons (building, developing, etc.) and nerds are more the Heavy-Users He said that geeks are also the techincal, but nerds have certain knowledge on a specific topic What do you think?

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        brianwelsch
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        I think geeks are really into the technical aspects of whatever they are a geek about. Nerds are geeks with limited social skills. BW


        "Get up and open your eyes. Don't let yourself ever fall down.
        Get through it and learn how to fly. I know you will find a way...
        Today"
        -Days of the New

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        • P Peter Reiter

          Recently a friend and i got into the discussion of the difference between nerds and geeks I think that geeks are more the general technical persons (building, developing, etc.) and nerds are more the Heavy-Users He said that geeks are also the techincal, but nerds have certain knowledge on a specific topic What do you think?

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          Douglas Troy
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          My wife's theory on this subject is as follows: Nerds are those persons that use technology for "what it is and what it can do" but don't show it off and don't care to. They are mostly quiet, work hard, read a lot about technologies and find new ways to make use of them. While these individuals eat-sleep and breath technology, they don't come across as being stuck-up or better than others because they have a higher understanding of them. Geeks are those persons that just purchase technology. They have the 51" HDTVs and love to talk about them. They have the PDAs with built-in cell phone and GPS and wear them on belt holsters so everyone can see them. Some may know what they speak of, but most do not. If something newer comes out, and they don't have it, they're running to get it. Video games are a normal staple in their everyday lives. They would sell their own children for a new XBox if it meant they were the first on their block to own it. ... anyway, that's what she says. FYI - I fall into the "nerd" category. There might be a category of individual inbetween these two; but I'm not going to try to classify that one. D.

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          • P Peter Reiter

            Recently a friend and i got into the discussion of the difference between nerds and geeks I think that geeks are more the general technical persons (building, developing, etc.) and nerds are more the Heavy-Users He said that geeks are also the techincal, but nerds have certain knowledge on a specific topic What do you think?

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            peterchen
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            In my distorted view of the world, nerd is the technical side (my boss is a nonlinear modeling nerd, and I am a C++ nerd), and geek is the social/cultural thing ("geek humour", books read, movies seen, games played, etc.) In a more reduced view (where nerd is actually negative), both come with social ineptitude - but the geeks copes differently (accepting what he is)


            we are here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is Vonnegut jr.
            boost your code || Fold With Us! || sighist | doxygen

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            • P Peter Reiter

              Recently a friend and i got into the discussion of the difference between nerds and geeks I think that geeks are more the general technical persons (building, developing, etc.) and nerds are more the Heavy-Users He said that geeks are also the techincal, but nerds have certain knowledge on a specific topic What do you think?

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              Henry miller
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              Geek is the side show freak in a circus. I'm not sure where nerd comes from. Both are names often applied to smart people who study technology. These people have learned to wear it as a badge of pride, despite the intent of those who applied it. I've seen many attempts to define differences, but none really hold up. One person calls himself a geek and considers Nerd to be worse, while the next is a Nerd because Geek is worse. Though Geek seems to be winning lately as the prefered term.

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              • P Peter Reiter

                Recently a friend and i got into the discussion of the difference between nerds and geeks I think that geeks are more the general technical persons (building, developing, etc.) and nerds are more the Heavy-Users He said that geeks are also the techincal, but nerds have certain knowledge on a specific topic What do you think?

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                KevinMac
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                If you actually are trying to define the difference between a geek and nerd you probably were considered one at some point in your life. These terms are to a large degree derogatory label given to social outcasts of the public education system. I am certain the muscle bound new car driving always have a girl friend jock that called me that in high school never made any distinction whether or not I was a Geek or a Nerd. To that point I am not sure that he could have mustered the intellect to create the distinction. If being a Nerd or Geek means I am surrounded by people that enjoy challenging themselves and are technically savvy then whichever you decide on is good for me I have been called both.

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                • P Peter Reiter

                  Recently a friend and i got into the discussion of the difference between nerds and geeks I think that geeks are more the general technical persons (building, developing, etc.) and nerds are more the Heavy-Users He said that geeks are also the techincal, but nerds have certain knowledge on a specific topic What do you think?

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                  Jon Sagara
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  I think that you're both a nerd and a geek for getting into a discussion about the differences between a nerd and a geek. ;P

                  Jon Sagara Roomier! Brawnier! Versatilier!
                  My Articles

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                  • H Henry miller

                    Geek is the side show freak in a circus. I'm not sure where nerd comes from. Both are names often applied to smart people who study technology. These people have learned to wear it as a badge of pride, despite the intent of those who applied it. I've seen many attempts to define differences, but none really hold up. One person calls himself a geek and considers Nerd to be worse, while the next is a Nerd because Geek is worse. Though Geek seems to be winning lately as the prefered term.

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                    Steve Mayfield
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    In "Revenge of the Nerds" - the Nerd got the girl. Just noticed that a remake of the movie in the works due out in 2005 or 2006. :doh: Steve

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                    • P peterchen

                      In my distorted view of the world, nerd is the technical side (my boss is a nonlinear modeling nerd, and I am a C++ nerd), and geek is the social/cultural thing ("geek humour", books read, movies seen, games played, etc.) In a more reduced view (where nerd is actually negative), both come with social ineptitude - but the geeks copes differently (accepting what he is)


                      we are here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is Vonnegut jr.
                      boost your code || Fold With Us! || sighist | doxygen

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                      J Offline
                      Jorgen Sigvardsson
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      peterchen wrote: I am a C++ nerd And that my friend, is a good thing. :cool: -- Weiter, weiter, ins verderben. Wir müssen leben bis wir sterben. I blog too now[^]

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                      • J Jon Sagara

                        I think that you're both a nerd and a geek for getting into a discussion about the differences between a nerd and a geek. ;P

                        Jon Sagara Roomier! Brawnier! Versatilier!
                        My Articles

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                        Paul Watson
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        And you sir, are a nerd for replying. :doh:

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                        • P Peter Reiter

                          Recently a friend and i got into the discussion of the difference between nerds and geeks I think that geeks are more the general technical persons (building, developing, etc.) and nerds are more the Heavy-Users He said that geeks are also the techincal, but nerds have certain knowledge on a specific topic What do you think?

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                          Member 96
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          My understanding is that traditionally a geek is someone who eats bugs in a carnival or provides some other squeamish and wierd entertainment. Some 80's movie probably co-opted it as a vally girl-esque insult and it's meaning got changed. Nerd is a 50's term for a math major. In the early 80's a nerdish / geeky person was a thing of scorn, in the latter 80's to now a nerdish / geeky person is the one driving the bmw that the "cool" guy is running up to valet park for them.

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                          • P Peter Reiter

                            Recently a friend and i got into the discussion of the difference between nerds and geeks I think that geeks are more the general technical persons (building, developing, etc.) and nerds are more the Heavy-Users He said that geeks are also the techincal, but nerds have certain knowledge on a specific topic What do you think?

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                            Michael Dunn
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            The current usage (in the western US at least) is pretty clear. "Geek" means someone who's into computers and knows a lot about them. "Nerd" means someone who's into computers and nothing else, the stereotypical skinny guy with thick glasses and no social skills. Geek is not derogatory*, whereas nerd is. Geek would be analogous to queer, a word that used to be derogatory but which the group uses to describe itself now. *In fact, there is a company here called "The Geek Squad" which employs geeks to go make house calls and fix people's computers. In an ironic twist, the employees drive VW Bugs, which many geeks (including myself) could not comfortably fit into. --Mike-- LINKS~! Ericahist | 1ClickPicGrabber | CP SearchBar v2.0.2 | C++ Forum FAQ | You Are Dumb

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                            • S Steve Mayfield

                              In "Revenge of the Nerds" - the Nerd got the girl. Just noticed that a remake of the movie in the works due out in 2005 or 2006. :doh: Steve

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                              David Wulff
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              Steve Mayfield wrote: In "Revenge of the Nerds" - the Nerd got the girl. Oh they didn't. Oh... they did. :omg:


                              David Wulff The Royal Woofle Museum

                              Everybody is entitled to my opinion

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                              • M Michael Dunn

                                The current usage (in the western US at least) is pretty clear. "Geek" means someone who's into computers and knows a lot about them. "Nerd" means someone who's into computers and nothing else, the stereotypical skinny guy with thick glasses and no social skills. Geek is not derogatory*, whereas nerd is. Geek would be analogous to queer, a word that used to be derogatory but which the group uses to describe itself now. *In fact, there is a company here called "The Geek Squad" which employs geeks to go make house calls and fix people's computers. In an ironic twist, the employees drive VW Bugs, which many geeks (including myself) could not comfortably fit into. --Mike-- LINKS~! Ericahist | 1ClickPicGrabber | CP SearchBar v2.0.2 | C++ Forum FAQ | You Are Dumb

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                                ProffK
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                I think Michael's succinct paragraph best describes the difference. His hands felt the grasp of strong white hairs, and he knew he would not survive this fungus.

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