Nerd vs. Geek

Today, we tackle the differences between “nerd” and “geek.”

You might think this doesn’t apply to you.

Like me, you might sigh and remember when years (or semesters) ago, you, beaming, threw your TI-84 Plus calculator in a closet, dresser drawer or trash can, never to be seen again.

Math and science are not your forte. You see yourself as “normal,” or perhaps even “unique,” but no, you are not nerdy, nor are you geeky. Those classifications only belong to computer-loving freaks.

Well, maybe.

For the past year, CNN’s blog Geek Out! has been asking celebrities (the geeky and/or nerdy kinds) how they distinguish between the two words.

Some, like Adam Savage from “Mythbusters,” associate more with “geek” and claim that “nerds” are more socially inept.

Conversely, there are other celebrities who actually prefer being called “nerdy” and view “geeks” as inferior.

These disputes are all part of the bizarre nerd vs. geek debate where subjectivity (not logic) is king.

Sure, definitions exist for each term, but it’s hard to extrapolate a clear consensus of what either word means from the general public.

Everyone has their own nerd/geek standards, right?

I, for instance, am clearly not part of the CNN blog’s target audience. They describe Geek Out! as such: “Are you a gadgethead?
 
Do you spend hours a day online? Or are you just curious about how technology impacts your life?”

No, no and, well, in regards to technology’s impact, I’m not so much “curious” as “concerned.”

I know books kill trees, but in choosing between real books and e-books, I’d gladly pay for the paper.

Nevertheless, Geek Out! is now my friend. I may not be one of their “gadgetheads,” but it did pique my interest in the perhaps geeky/nerdy quest for definitions.

It’s important to note that the names are not mutually exclusive; it’s possible to exhibit both nerdy and geeky qualities. Weird Al Yankovic, for example, calls himself “a nerd in general, but probably a geek about some things.”

For further exploration, CNN provides a useful link in its online article which directs the reader to a “Nerd Classification: Venn Diagram” graphic.

With this visual, we see that a “geek” is considered to be intelligent and obsessive and that a “nerd” is essentially a geek sans social skills.

This analysis for “nerd” seems fair; it matches Mythbuster Savage’s claim, and Merriam-Webster even defines nerds as “socially inept” (in addition to being “unstylish” and “unattractive”).

There’s nothing like getting dissed by the dictionary.

But chin up, nerds! You already know that “stylishness” and “attractiveness” don’t have any intellectual merit.

Besides, the history behind the word “geek” is much more insulting. It started off as being rather repulsive.

Ben Nugent, the author of “American Nerd: The Story of My People,” says the word has its roots in the early 20th century, when it was used to describe an unskilled carnie.

A geek was someone who was so bad at entertaining people, he’d have to “bite the heads off of live animals” in order to get an audience.

Here we see that “geek” doesn’t necessarily denote a smart person, but the Venn diagram showed “geek” to have intelligence.

It’s baffling.

The words are so often joined with brainy endeavors, but their actual definitions are impossible to pinpoint. It doesn’t make sense.

Urbandictionary.com states that a nerd is “One whose IQ exceeds his weight.”

I’m amused, but obviously this definition can’t apply to every nerd.

How do we reach an agreement about “nerd” and “geek” connotations when everyone takes the words so personally?

For whatever reason, I have never viewed myself as a “geek.”

Maybe I’ve associated the word with Best Buy’s Geek Squad and wrongly related all geeks to computers, but that’s just what made sense for me personally.

In the past, I’ve accepted that I’m nerdy because I like to do my readings for class.

But now I’m willing to admit to being geeky, too.

No, gadgets don’t enthrall me, but books do, so if the defining quality for geeks is “obsession,” then count me in, I guess.

Whatever their history, the terms “nerd” and “geek” shouldn’t be viewed negatively today.

Interests and passions are good, and as long as we remember to see the sunshine or another breathing human being, loving computers or books (or anything in between) is fine by me.


E-mail: paihenry@indiana.edu