What's the difference between GEEKS and NERDS? A data scientist says he has settled one of the most pressing conundra of the digital age. He has discovered the difference between geeks and nerds. Burr Settles, software chap at crowdsourced translation platform Duolingo, rooted through millions of tweets to find the sorts of words that were used at the same time as either …
I may have posted this before, in which case sorry, but the compliment I most value is the one once paid to me by a Royal Tank Regiment sergeant in the early 80s. I had turned up for a field trial with boots and a boiler suit.
"You know, Sir," he said, "you're quite sensible for a boffin".
Both monikers were applied in a derogatory sense originally to those who were seen as 'more interested in the blinkenflashen lightzen'.
Then those who were named such decided to embrace the terms in the vain hope that they could become 'cool' just as the other minorities embraced their derogatory terms in the not-so-vain hope to do likewise (gay, 'nigga' &c).
Unfortunately, this didn't really work, but that's not because geeks and nerds are not cool. It's because we know something they don't, and we're comfortable about that while they are not.
Beware of geeks bearing gifts... The geek will inherit the earth...
We did create the internet, we're keeping it up and running, we're chasing the dishonesty in the banking system, we're cleaning up all the crap.
We will make the world a better place...call us whatever the fuck you like, if you're not one of us we don't give a fuck (maybe that's our 'social ineptitude' but then if bringing the world to financial ruin and all the other crap the non-geek and non-nerd types are doing, I'll take social awkwardness over that any day.)
I too was about to ask "WTF is Etsy?".
Now that I know, I can't help wondering where this guy got his data from, given that "Etsy" occurred frequently enough to be significant. I work in an environment populated entirely by people who are geeks or nerds or both, and I see no evidence of a taste for handmade crafts.
Incidentally, I though a geek was a fairground performer who bites the heads off chickens, though I've never seen a satisfactory explanation of why anyone would pay to see this done.
"Say the magic word and the duck will come down..." *
-- Marx
Here in Michigan we have a self-styled nerd for a governor -- and a computer repair business calling itself The Geek Squad. Possibly better than the other way around.
Imagine a bunch of earnest young men fixing computers, biting the heads off live chickens for lunch. Or a governor who does. Sets bounds on things, doesn't it?
Beer -- because there's no tea. *And no Hundred Dollars. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Bet_Your_Life
The venn diagram seems good enough to me (I don't care if people call me a Geek or Nerd - I take them both as compliments).
I would change one thing though, and that is to relabel the bit of 'obsession' that does not intersect with other areas as 'fanbois'. To me a fanboy is somebody who has all the obsession but has lost rationality and a sense of logic - therefore they sit outside of the 'intelligence' sphere. As they also love showing off their 'toys' they are normally not socially inept either.
Geek = Intelligent, and all that, and really techno oriented. Probably watches Star Trek and like SciFi.
Nerd = Geek + "not only goes to Comicon, but goes dressed as their favourite Klingon." (for extra bonus points, the Klingon in question has to be the most obscure possible, and they'd be happy to explain it at length the significance of "ToR", credited as "Klingon #5" played by ..., who was at the back of scene 5, episode 12, on stardate 749024)
I'm mostly in the Geek category, but I do have Nerdy friends. :) Re-reading the above, I think it could be shortened to:
Nerd = Geek with Aspergers...
He started out with the wrong definition for nerd. Nerd, according to everyone I've ever heard from on the subject who has an opinion worth noting (in other words, people who realize it's not an insult to be hurled at people smarter than them) is simply a very smart person with wide ranging knowledge. His definition of geek is spot on, but nerds aren't subject specific.
So, now we have Geeks & Nerds sorted. How about Boffins??? In the US, we don't use the term boffins, but refer to scientists or engineers or mathematicians or any number of really smart guys and gals. Then what is a boffin and what is a scientist or engineer or mathematician or any number of really smart guys and gals"?
#I don't claim to be either#
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