What’s The Difference?

Well, if you were to look up the words in the urban dictionary, you’d find these definitions:

geek: The people you pick on in high school and wind up working for as an adult.
A geek is not a nerd.
A geek is obsessive over anything and everything: television shows (including Star Wars, Harry Potter and Doctor Who) it can be from comics, the internet and often consoles, pc games or related topics.
~ urbandictionary.com

nerd: One whose IQ exceeds his weight.
Someone who enjoys learning and obtaining new information in general for it's own sake, often without discrimination to different areas of knowledge. The key to recognizing a nerd is if they are completely indifferent to the application of what they learn; they are not inherently inclined to use or not to use the information.
~ urbandictionary.com

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A More Scientific Explaination

I found a blog entry on slackprop.wordpress.com, On “Geek” Versus “Nerd”, that opens with the author’s idea of the difference between “geeks” and “nerds”.

To many people, “geek” and “nerd” are synonyms, but in fact they are a little different....
In my mind, “geek” and “nerd” are related, but capture different dimensions of an intense dedication to a subject:

• geek – An enthusiast of a particular topic or field. Geeks are “collection” oriented, gathering facts and mementos related to their subject of interest. They are obsessed with the newest, coolest, trendiest things that their subject has to offer.
  

A little bit of my geeky collection.

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• nerd – A studious intellectual, although again of a particular topic or field. Nerds are “achievement” oriented, and focus their efforts on acquiring knowledge and skill over trivia and memorabilia.
  

A few of my nerdy books.

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Now, having said that, I think that every nerd is a little bit geeky, and all geeks have a tiny bit of nerd goin’ on.

• How can a nerd, someone who studies things so thoroughly not develop an obsession with this one or that one, and end up collecting a little of this or that?
• How could a geek be obsessed with collecting something, and not study it a little?

How Do You Know If You’re A Geek Or A Nerd?

Because there can be a little gray area, it can be hard to tell. Luckly, Burrsettles, the author of the above named wordpress blog article, has developed a scientific way of discovering whether you, or someone else, is a geek or a nerd.

Using data he collected from Twitter, Burrsettles plotted some keywords on this graph. Words plotted more to the left and top are more geeky, while the lower right words are more nerdy. Words running the upper right to lower left diagonal are words that tend to cross over the geek-nerd divide.

Here’s a link to a high resolution image.
SOURCE

Maybe You’re more Visual?

Perhaps finding words that describe you on the chart is a little tedious. Maybe this infographic is more your speed.

SOURCE

How’s About A Quiz?

If examining yourself is difficult, or if you’d be more comfortable with a label that comes from an unbiased source, this quiz might help you figure out where you fit.

• This quiz from magiquiz.com will not only tell you whether your a geek or a nerd, it will tell you if you’re neither. Neither is what they call normal. The questions deal with day to day things, so there aren’t many questions with answers that are hard to choose between.
• This one from playbuzz.com has more fun questions. And the questions get right to the point, although some of them are a little hard to answer. You just have to remember to choose which best describes you.
• Here’s one from quizony.com that will tell you if you’re a geek or a nerd. But it will also tell you if you’re more of an egghead or bookworm!

Well, what do you think? Are you a nerd or a geek? Maybe you’re a bookworm or an egghead. Maybe you’re just a normal, everyday something else?

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Don’t forget about my contest!!

I am putting together a prize package to include something to represent each post I make this week. Everyone who leaves a relevant comment below will be entered into the random drawing for the prize package. No spammy comments, and I’ll be the judge! To get extra entries, watch for my next post and leave a comment there too. You can gain one entry for every post you comment on. The drawing will be held on Friday, March 30th, so keep your eyes out for my posts!

The item for the prize package for this post is this handmade Nightmare Before Christmas inspired, wire necklace.

Check out this active post and the prize package item associated with it!

Happy Birthday, Captain Kirk!

Until next time, remember that dust is the enemy of books and collectable figurines alike!