Exploring the Debate: Nerd vs Geek

[Davorak]

38.46%-major geek, but with a little effort I know I can do better.

 

[BobG]

Hmmm...I suspect there's a difference in meaning depending on where you live. I would have said it's nerds who don't shower and geeks who do. As for biting heads off chickens, I leave that to the lead singers of Metal bands, who are neither geeks nor nerds, they're just strange.

Well, MY meaning is backed by Merriam-Webster's. How about yours? (I needed 10 characters, not including the quotes - but it didn't say what base, so I decided to play it safe).

Main Entry: geek
Pronunciation: 'gEk
Function: noun
Etymology: probably from English dialect geek, geck fool, from Low German geck, from Middle Low German
1 : a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake

 

[Math Is Hard]

Bob G is correct. Carnival geeks are famed for that particular heinous act.

 

[franznietzsche]

Bob G is correct. Carnival geeks are famed for that particular heinous act.

Can you blame us?

Them chickens is yummy.


Mmmmm, chicken.

 

[Entropy]

I'm a pirate. Argh!

 

[Gale]

I am so definately a nerd, in my own special way. I was like pseudo popular in school, at least, i had pleanty of friends, and i knew about my whole class and they knew me. But i decided that i'd rather hang in the library and read feynman lectures or try to understand quantum theory. I also really enjoyed "the beauty of math" sort of books... but either way, i became totally awkward and caught up in intellectual pursuit, the sheer definition of a nerd. Go me

 

[motai]

I am so definately a nerd, in my own special way. I was like pseudo popular in school, at least, i had pleanty of friends, and i knew about my whole class and they knew me. But i decided that i'd rather hang in the library and read feynman lectures or try to understand quantum theory. I also really enjoyed "the beauty of math" sort of books... but either way, i became totally awkward and caught up in intellectual pursuit, the sheer definition of a nerd. Go me

Same here... but I am not even psuedo-popular... hardly have any friends (only 1 or 2) and I hardly know the names of half of the people in my class, and the ones I do know I shrug off. As for the libraries and QT thing, yeah I do a lot of that . Its gotten to the point where intellectual pursuit is all that I do in my spare time, at least the stuff that I can figure out from the college textbooks at the local university.

It sucks that there aren't more people who have the same mindset as my own, it gets real lonely sometimes. Even my classmates who are also in the top of the class aren't much for conversation, anything I bring up intellectually doesn't work, and it seems like most of their conversations are extremely banal and lacking direction. For instance, whenever I try to elaborate by bringing up calculus, physics, or humor of both, I get a lackluster and unsatisfactory response. I usually end up eating lunch alone or without saying a word.

 

[Smurf]

Ok, I got to say this. You're a geek if you actually took this whole test...it's got like what? 20k questions?

Your kidding right? Oh come on... look, for all you lot who are still in denial, I'm going to show you something.
Now, I know it'll be really hard for you to take, but try to be understanding.
..
..
..
..
Ready for it?
..
..
Ok
Look up at the top of your screen, it's blue and white with letters all over.

Physics Help and Math Help - Physics Forums -

 

[franznietzsche]

Same here... but I am not even psuedo-popular... hardly have any friends (only 1 or 2) and I hardly know the names of half of the people in my class, and the ones I do know I shrug off. As for the libraries and QT thing, yeah I do a lot of that . Its gotten to the point where intellectual pursuit is all that I do in my spare time, at least the stuff that I can figure out from the college textbooks at the local university.

It sucks that there aren't more people who have the same mindset as my own, it gets real lonely sometimes. Even my classmates who are also in the top of the class aren't much for conversation, anything I bring up intellectually doesn't work, and it seems like most of their conversations are extremely banal and lacking direction. For instance, whenever I try to elaborate by bringing up calculus, physics, or humor of both, I get a lackluster and unsatisfactory response. I usually end up eating lunch alone or without saying a word.

You're a man after my own heart motai.

I feel your pain.

 

[Moonbear]

Your kidding right? Oh come on... look, for all you lot who are still in denial, I'm going to show you something.
Now, I know it'll be really hard for you to take, but try to be understanding.
..
..
..
..
Ready for it?
..
..
Ok
Look up at the top of your screen, it's blue and white with letters all over.

Yep, it's geek and nerd central here. The question isn't "Are you a geek or a nerd?" It's, "Which are you, a geek or a nerd?"

I opt for being a geek. Do I really have to bite the heads off chickens though, or can I just cut their heads off? I guess the vegetarians have to be nerds.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I liked Entropy's idea. I want to be a pirate! That's way more fun than being a geek or a nerd.
ARRGGGHH MATEYS!

 

[cepheid]

I want to be a pirate!
ARRGGGHH MATEYS!

Ah ha...I see the quest to "experience sin" has been taken to the next level...

Sister MIH, aka "Nobeard"...scourge of the seven seas!...

 

[franznietzsche]

Ah ha...I see the quest to "experience sin" has been taken to the next level...

Sister MIH, aka "Nobeard"...scourge of the seven seas!...

More like scourge of the seven sailors

 

[Math Is Hard]

unfortunately, I only scored a 23 on the pirate test ("pirate-ish tendencies"). *sigh*

 

[dextercioby]

Why would u say that...?23 is FAR better than 7...On any scale...(except Mercali & Richter )...

Daniel.

 

[Artman]

unfortunately, I only scored a 23 on the pirate test ("pirate-ish tendencies"). *sigh*

That doesn't even make you scourge of your bathtub.

 

[Math Is Hard]

That doesn't even make you scourge of your bathtub.

yarrhh...right he is! *sigh*

 

[franznietzsche]

yarrhh...right he is! *sigh*

Sorry, you're a failure.


Where's the pirate test?

 

[kirovman]

I got 18.3% despite being on track for a top degree in Physics...where am I going wrong?

 

[dextercioby]

Cut computer knowledge/involvement from the list and u'll drop to <10% which is better than 18%...

Daniel.

 

[cepheid]

Cut computer knowledge/involvement from the list and u'll drop to <10% which is better than 18%...

Daniel.

^I thought he was aiming for a higher score!

 

[franznietzsche]

Cut computer knowledge/involvement from the list and u'll drop to <10% which is better than 18%...

Daniel.

You can't be a good physicist if you're not good with computers. Sorry, doesn't work.

 

[franznietzsche]

^I thought he was aiming for a higher score!

I'm angry, motai beat me, i only got 40.83%, I'm going to have to work on that.

 

[abhishek]

42.80079% this time. It's been at roughly 41-43% over the last year. (Do I get extra points for doing the test multiple times a year? )

 

[franznietzsche]

42.80079% this time. It's been at roughly 41-43% over the last year. (Do I get extra points for doing the test multiple times a year? )

1) Dag nabbit, that's two people. I'm going to have to go brush up on my Star Trek now.

2) Of course.

 

[abhishek]

1) Dag nabbit, that's two people. I'm going to have to go brush up on my Star Trek now.

I know someone (via the incredible internet) who apparently scored ~62.19%/Extreme Geek. He is a bit strange. No, very strange. And he wouldn't mind me saying that.

 

[dextercioby]

Did u tell him he still has some catch-up to do to reach "disfunctionality"...?

Daniel.

 

[franznietzsche]

I'm just going to have to get my geek on here and beat all you people.

[/horrible horrible thing]

 

[abhishek]

Did u tell him he still has some catch-up to do to reach "disfunctionality"...?

Daniel.

Ha, I bet he's working toward that already.

 

[Artman]

I'm angry, motai beat me, i only got 40.83%, I'm going to have to work on that.

I got a 42.01183% Major Geek. No big surprize there. I have a huge DVD and Video collection (over 5000 combined) and lots of computer experience. Gaming is the only thing that held me down, I'm not a big gamer.

 

[franznietzsche]

I got a 42.01183% Major Geek. No big surprize there. I have a huge DVD and Video collection (over 5000 combined) and lots of computer experience. Gaming is the only thing that held me down, I'm not a big gamer.

Im not a trekkie ina anyway shape or form. Thats my problem.

 

[Artman]

Im not a trekkie ina anyway shape or form. Thats my problem.

Actually, I'm not either. I do own all of the Star Trek Movies, but I never watched the TV show. The only one of the movies I like is the 4th one where they come back to Earth to save the whales. I like that one because they spend half the movie poking fun at themselves.

I am really more of a geek then the test can show because of other reasons, things like owning 5 telescopes, 4 of which I built myself; building my own microscope; reading the encyclopedia for fun; reading other reference books more frequently than I read novels; etc.

 

[Smurf]

In one of my english classes the teacher made us do "Silent Reading" time (pretty sad eh? this was a few years ago), anyways when everyone else was reading what I call 'redneck lit' I brought in a textbook on international relations and read that. Doesn't that bump me up a bit?

 

[motai]

In one of my english classes the teacher made us do "Silent Reading" time (pretty sad eh? this was a few years ago), anyways when everyone else was reading what I call 'redneck lit' I brought in a textbook on international relations and read that. Doesn't that bump me up a bit?

Our school has a mandatory SSS (Sustained Silent Reading) that is supposed to occur, it was strictly enforced in one of my classes and loosely in another. Most other people read novels or leafing through magazines, but I either had a physics book (2nd Edition Hausmann, Slack), or my Calculus or government book.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Where's the pirate test?

Unbelieveable! I was just kidding around but apparently there IS a pirate test!

]The pirate Test [/URL]

And I scored pretty good, too (YARRRRHHHH!) - Look at this:

CAPTAIN!
Congratulations! You scored 90%!
CAPTAIN ! yarrrr, ye be worhty to sail ye own boat of pirate scum round the 7 seas! may there be much booty awaitin ye!