Are you a Geek? Or a Nerd?

Nerd - I can understand assembly language, no hope left for me.

To me nerds are people physics/maths/computing orientated.

 

Definately a geek. I'm not the sort of person that has to date an exact clone of me though, I do usually end up converting them come to think of it . That, and gaming is my passion, haha.

 

I would say a little bit of both.

I am into sciency stuff and I'm not very good at social interactions (which as I understand goes for a nerd), and occasionally I'm also into fantasy stuff and video games and other computer related things (which I'm guessing is the geeky part).

 

xkcd: Geeks and Nerds

 

Im an special kind of nerd im an otaku lol

 

Both I guess. I'm into some really intellectual stuff like, lotsa science, etc. But I also really like the more geeky stuff, like anime, video games, electronic music, etc.

 

I'll go by definitions, according to the dictionary, a nerd is "a person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept" and the definition of a geek is "a person often of an intellectual bent who is disliked." Based on the actual definitions, I'd say I'm a nerd. I have a small group of friends, and I'm definitively not disliked, nor am I an outcast. I usually am socially inept though, I talk to people, but I usually am quick to run away from any social situation. People consider me to be very smart, and I'm really good at science and math. Besides, I always get called a nerd anyways, so just based on stereotypical behaviors, I'd say nerd. Although I do have a little bit of geeky-ness because I love gaming, anime, and computers. Overall I'd be more of a nerd though. I plan on being active in the scientific field in the future, and I get a kick out of science. It's really a lot of fun, and it's extremely interesting. Sometimes I feel like youth wastes their minds on trivial things and they never see how the subjects they hate because they claim they're hard are actually the most interesting and beneficial. That's beside the point though. I'm a nerd for life

 

The definitions I use, based of course on my school politics, are below. Short version: Geeks are clever, nerds are awkward.

A boffin is someone accepted by their peers who is clever or incidentally clever in any subject. This is often a light term thrown around after someone gets a good test score, and if they're popular it won't damage their reputation.

A geek might have good social skills, is probably very clever or at least the class know-it-all, and is generally strong in Science, Maths, and related subjects. Someone like this likely hangs out with fewer people, and calling someone a geek has stronger connotations than being a boff. It's the halfway between a boffin and a nerd.

A nerd is probably ostracised and very socially inept, might be clever but might really be the bottom of the heap, and likely has an obsessive interest in few subjects. This is an insult, and can be associated with stereotypes of those on the autistic spectrum, so popular people don't get called this. It's the halfway between a geek and a dork.

A dork is the lowest of the low, being someone who's just socially bad, perceived as gross, a loner, or boring and awkward. Rather than implying cleverness like geek does, this insult says the person it is applied to is stupid. Looking dorky, however, can be cute.

 

I try to keep myself up to date on electronics news and scientific advancements, but my interest isn't much more than slight curiosity.
I like some electronic music like Kraftwerk and Justice.
I like reading good manga (I have high somewhat high standards though) and anime, though I haven't found many good series.
I like maths.

I'm going to assume that since I don't know the distinction of the two terms, I am neiterh.

 

I'm a bionerd and statsgeek, so I'm torn.

 

i guess i'm a nerd but not much of a tech guy.
i'm a huge politics/philosophy/etc. nerd

 

I actually felt like I didn't fit in with my friends because I wasn't nerdy enough. I only watched a few animes, I only took three AP classes, I'm pursuing the easier side of biology, I didn't like math, and I have to special geek skills.

I always thought of a geek as someone people consider gross and a nerd as someone with a skill associated with high intellect. Though the terms could be interchangeable I guess.

 

Neither. Same as I have been for years.

 

I don't really know the difference. I like books and reading and I'm quite studious when it comes to my academic work.I'm not into computer games though. What does that make me.

 

I'm all sorts of Nerdy; Anime, Books, Science, History, Classic Literature, Dungeons and Dragons, Video Games, Math, and to a lesser extent a few other things.

 

I'm another that's not quite sure where she fits in.

Both my parents are fairly geeky (although focused on very different topics, for the most part), and have been since their childhood.

Most of my friends are geeks or nerds, although nobody seems to fit one definition. Activities enjoyed by members of our group include anime, D&D (and other RPGs), LARPing, fiction writing, comic books, video games, cosplay and computer programing. Most of us enjoy all of these, in addition to having our own "specialties" (a few examples being advanced mathematics, computer engineering, music and astronomy). Even if we are not interested in one of the above subjects or activities, we are usually more than averagely knowledgable about them, simply because of the involvement of our friends. We all tease each other when we get onto "our topic", because we tend to get over-excited in our detailed explanations. People know to take a step back, otherwise you're likely to get hit in the face by an extravagant hand gesture. Most of us would be considered fairly normal in terms of social interaction, although the majority are much more comfortable with smaller, closer groups of friends as opposed to large gatherings.

My own "specialty" is medicine, specifically veterinary medicine. While my knowledge is understandable given my career, it's been an obsession of mine since a very early age (one passed down from my late mother), and I love getting the chance to share my understanding of the topic. I love being alone or with a very small group, but I can get along pretty easily with new people. My only real social issue is that, since I'm used to seeing some pretty disturbing stuff on a regular basis, I forget that others may get uncomfortable or grossed out when discussing things like death or particularly nasty wounds (which I actually enjoy talking about).

 

More geek than nerd. I've got many friends and acquaintances who I can confidently say are almost pure geeks or nerds, and I think these two go hand in hand more often than not, in my experience.

 

Nerd sounds better to me

 

To me, a nerd is someone who excels academically, is interested in a more or less academic field (physics, history, computers, etc, but not, say, sports), and is socially awkward. A geek is anyone who is particularly devoted to a given hobby, particularly if it's related to science, computers, or games, though it can also refer to the arts.

As a physics major who currently plans to become a games programmer (and is running a D&D-like games on these forums), I think I fit both criteria.