What is a Nerd?

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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May 9, 2000
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Anyone who works with computers in any capacity will sooner or later be called a geek or a nerd, but what exactly is it that you are being called? Is it a badge of honor to be proudly displayed or a shameful slur towards your mental superiority? :D

There will still be people who are ostracized for their social skills or interests, and some of them will like gaming and superheroes, but the term has gone far beyond that. "Nerd" has a definition, and it's used by a subculture, but it’s really a catch-all.
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whatever geeks and nerds are, they are the only ones who have dictionary wars

lets argue about terminology in this thread
 
if youre smart and good-looking you are a intelligent person, great human being and a intellectual, otherwise youre a geek :D
 
as much as i hate labeling people i guess this is related
websourcing-infographie-geek-nerd-differences.jpg
 
^ That picture is more like losers and posers.
Neither one is a true nerd or geek.
 
Really, being called a nerd is a compliment to me. I love computers and make good money at it. The term came from the times, it really means a smart, socially inept person, which I am. I'm fine with that.

The term geek comes from old time circus side shows. I don't like the term, and I don't like being called one. I'm not malformed. I'm not a 'little person'. I'm not especially hairy. I don't have some strange talent like swallowing swords or being really bendy. (These are the types of people who populated old circus side shows because that was all they could do back then. Not my fault for naming them.) I just don't like the term. It's much more of an insult than 'nerd'.
 
Not too bad, except for the idea that if you like Star Wars lovers are superior to Star Trek lovers.

My definition goes along the lines of a geek is one who has an ability (or is learning an ability) that puts him/her above others with regard to that discipline, e.g. computer geek, band geek, electronics geek, physics geek. Where as a nerd is one who might likes some area that isn't always socially acceptable and tends to be a little less socially outgoing, e.g. comic book nerd, computer nerd, star wars nerd. Note that you can be both a geek and a nerd, e.g. computer geek who's a comic book nerd. Comic books are not an ability so you can't be a comic book geek, star wars is not an ability either so you can't be a star wars geek regardless of your knowledge of the subject, you can be a computer geek if you know how to handle them (either the hardware or software side) however if all you do is play games on your prebuilt rig you're not a geek but a nerd.

~fin

I used to be more of a nerd (comics and computers) and I wasn't terribly socially adapt (foot in mouth syndrome mostly), however I'm more outgoing and sociable, and have a lot more geek habits than nerd ones (computers, fish, physics, astronomy, woodworking, electrical, plumbing)geek.

Globox said:
as much as i hate labeling people i guess this is related
websourcing-infographie-geek-nerd-differences.jpg
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Most people who use these terms mean then as insults. Even if you're proud to be called one, you're still being insulted.

The Big Bang Theory started out as a show based on mocking nerds, even though the show seems to have moved a bit beyond that. They're nerds, not because they're scientists, but because one can't talk to girls, one is asexual, one lives with mom, one has numerous allergies. They're all scrawny. They're all ugly. Even though they all have good jobs, they have no ambition to move out of a cheap apartment.
 
ElGuapo242 said:
Wait, I thought that if you drank Starbucks, it made you a hipster douche canoe. :p
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I was under the same impression. Anywho I dont think the terms mean anything most of the times they are said. Usually used in a derogatory way or as some mark of superiority. Modern society terms are dumb. Its like when you call a girl a slut or bitch and they take it as a compliment.
 
shoota said:
And you like teeny bopper Britney Spears, you're a nerd fo sho. :)
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I painted the room and removed the posters and photos.
room-2012-1.jpg


Haven't decided if I am going to put anything on the walls yet.
 
I'm probably considered a geek. If having a 42U server rack in the house, custom hvac control system, and currently working on an environmental monitoring system for my house does not make me one, I don't know what would. I work in a NOC to top things off. :D
 
Nerds and Geeks are the same. What makes a nerd is scrutinizing. Basically you pay attention to crap that normal people would simply overlook. So much so that you're life may revolve around this.

There are levels of being a nerd, and it generally is about how much you're willing to ignore things like, relationships, your job, and other basic human needs. The stigma is generally about video games, computers, and Scifi. There are other types.


Nerds-Gallery.jpg

One example is the guy that knows everything about sports. He knows all the teams, and the members in them down to the T. He knows so much crap about sports that generally most people wouldn't give a crap about, and does generally make fun of nerds, and points them out.

Another are girls who like to use Facebook all day and look down at guys who play WoW. These girls spend majority of their day dueling over celebrities and wanting to know if certain guys are gay or not. They know everything about people who are generally unimportant, but feel that they are. They know where they live, eat, sleep, and who they've been married too. They especially know about the zodiac, cause that's real astronomy.
 
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