Are You a Geek, Nerd, or Dork?

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://militantgeek.com/2006/12/21/geek-vs-nerd-vs-dork/' target='_blank'>http://militantgeek.com/2006/12/21/...s-nerd-vs-dork/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"An alarming trend that we've noticed at the Militant Geek HQ is the sloppy usage of the terms 'geek', 'nerd', and 'dork'. It was almost as if certain individuals assumed that they meant the same thing! For the record Geeks are those that have technical aptitude, nerds are bright but socially awkward, and dorks are just inept excuses for protoplasm. To prevent such future travesties of verboten wonders the retired circus-monkey crew at Militant Geek has prepared this handy comparison chart."</i><br /><br />Most of my friends use these terms interchangeably as if they were one and the same. I've always been quick to correct them, which I guess makes me a geek. Militant Geek's "geek vs. nerd vs. dork" table seems to agree, though I have a hard time believing that API documentation is sexy, and I don't wear geek-shirts in public. Sorry.

[dbrahms]

wow - this site is getting really sad if someone feels it is worthwhile to post an article about this.

[baker]

Just having a little fun. :lol: A few days ago our oldest daughter called our oldest boy a geek. Our son's friend (we were in our minivan) corrected her. He said he was a geek and our son was a nerd since he's a little shy. Even 12-16 year olds debate this.

[Darius Wey]

wow - this site is getting really sad if someone feels it is worthwhile to post an article about this.

Lighten up. It's not uncommon for us to have a Friday off-topic post. Besides, being Christmas/New Year week, news is at a crawl. ;)

[mauibro]

wow - this site is getting really sad if someone feels it is worthwhile to post an article about this.

Lighten up. It's not uncommon for us to have a Friday off-topic post. Besides, being Christmas/New Year week, news is at a crawl. ;)

Truth is, nobody considers himself a "dorK."
Few call themselves "Nerds."

Our actions define us.
Nerd is as nerd does.
Feeling the need to defend ones geekiness is akin to having Spock ears.
Pretty nerdy. :lol:

[mtmra70]

People who know me call me a geek...
People who dont know me call me a nerd...
My wife calls me a dork...

:)

[Damion Chaplin]

Yep, I my experience, Geek is what we call each other, Nerd is what other people call us, and Dork is what women call us (especially girlfriends/wives). Oh yeah, and traditionally, a woman may only be referred to as a Nerd. I know of no women Geeks or Dorks.

[Janak Parekh]

Oh yeah, and traditionally, a woman may only be referred to as a Nerd. I know of no women Geeks or Dorks.
The rest of your post is spot-on, but this isn't universally true. I work with female Computer Science PhD students. Trust me, they're very much geeks and not nerds.

--janak

[Mark Kenepp]

My freshman roommate in college was an Electrical Engineering major. Most people shortened Electrical Engineering to "EE." My roommate always referred to "EE" as "gEEk."

Thus the building named Electrical Engineering West, which most referred to EE West, became Geek West, EE East became Geek East, the class Electrical Engineering 101 became Geek 101, etc...

I have always held that to be the gospel of the definition of the term Geek.

There is, of course, more official definitions of the term which I guess I can accept, but language is fluid, language relating to technology, doubly so.

[Damion Chaplin]

The rest of your post is spot-on, but this isn't universally true. I work with female Computer Science PhD students. Trust me, they're very much geeks and not nerds.

OK, so one may safely refer to females as Geeks if they're studying for their PhD or other doctorate, or if they work for Mythbusters. :wink:

[Sven Johannsen]

The rest of your post is spot-on, but this isn't universally true. I work with female Computer Science PhD students. Trust me, they're very much geeks and not nerds.

OK, so one may safely refer to females as Geeks if they're studying for their PhD or other doctorate, or if they work for Mythbusters. :wink:

It's much more widespread than that limited set. There are significant numbers of distaff geeks at a corporate campus in NW Washington. Most are proud of it and rightfully so.

[k1darkknight]

language is fluid, language relating to technology, doubly so. You mean "language relating to technology, *2^1 so."? (okay, just proving my geekdom)

[Craig Horlacher]

Though some would classify me as white and nerdy I'm really a geek at heart.

[Brad Adrian]

My kids always explained my geekiness this way:

Nerds are the ones who lock themselves in their parents' basements to invent the technologies. Geeks are the brave souls who make the technology a part of their everyday lives, and Nerds are the technophilic wannabes who lack the intelligence and/or social skills to be either Geeks or Nerds.

Of the three, I'm glad I'm a Geek.