Set Your Inner Geek Free
- Jul 20, 2007
- Nerds and Geeks are Not the Same
- You Dont Want to Be a Nerd
- Put a Stop to Your Nerdy Behavior
- Go Ahead, Geek Out
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If you, like me, first got into computers and software when you were still a teen, you have probably had the dubious honor of being labeled a geek or a nerd. Hopefully this honor didn’t also include wedgies or swirlies, but if it did, perhaps you will find a little comfort in this article. It’s good to be a geek, and I’m going to explain why.
Nerds and Geeks are Not the Same
First, we must address the words. There is a difference between a geek and a nerd, and it’s important to understand them, even if the general population doesn’t. Why? Because everyone in IT is a geek or a nerd, including you. But not me. I’m normal! Right... I think this article will clearly demonstrate that I, too, am a geek. But not a nerd—at least not all the time.
Let me tell you what Webster says:
Geek: 1: a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake; 2: a person often of an intellectual bent who is disapproved of.
What the heck? A wild man who bites off snake heads? How did that evolve into a dude with a PDA on his belt?
Nerd: perhaps from nerd, a creature in the children’s book If I Ran the Zoo (1950) by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel): an unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person; especially: one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits.
Sweet. The next time someone calls you a nerd, thank Dr. Seuss.
There is a subtle but important difference between a geek and a nerd. A geek has an "intellectual bent" that others find odd. A nerd, however, is a social klutz.
