By G. P. Avants
Uh, I have often heard that Nerds and Geeks are not the same thing. Have you heard that too? To some folks these common terms are interchangeable to describe the creative, out-of-the-box, people in our lives.
I decided to look them both up. Here are the dictionary definitions.
nerd
nərd/
noun
informal
- a foolish or contemptible person who lacks social skills or is boringly studious.
“one of those nerds who never asked a girl to dance”
- a single-minded expert in a particular technical field.
“a computer nerd”
geek
ɡēk/
noun
informal
- 1.an unfashionable or socially inept person.
- 2.a carnival performer who performs wild or disgusting acts.
verb
- 1.engage in or discuss computer-related tasks obsessively or with great attention to technical detail.
“we all geeked out for a bit and exchanged website information.”
But some see these two very similar personalities as polar opposites. In fact, if you have ever heard of Good Mythical Morning with Rhett and Link, they have who brought that age-old battle to a head.
Whoa, can’t we all just get along?
What I know about Nerd and Geek culture is that we are more similar than different. Where else can you attend a Comic Con event where fans of Star Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Pokeman can hang out for a weekend? We don’t have to totally agree to get along and what unites us is found our diversity. Maybe our Neeks are the ones who can show the rest of the world how a real community work?
There really isn’t a lot of difference so why is there any antagonism in the terms? So, Nerdatonium is present in anyone who thinks, not matter what their designation might be. (Ah, well of course unless you have a Borg designation that is.)
Levy Roarke from my story, Chronolocity: A Fistful of Chrontons, is an admitted nerd. He doesn’t like to always to share his nerdiness beyond his circle of friends, but he can’t always escape his inventive nature. Somehow it might be key to him helping history get restored.
God Among Geeks 