“You’re acting like a nerd again.”
I’ve heard that once or twice. This week.
It reminded me that I’ve been called a nerd, a geek, and a dork at various moments in my life.
I’ll assume that many of you are not as accustomed to being called one of those terms as I am. Or perhaps you wondered which of them you should call me at a given moment.
I’ve got the quintessential answer to your question:
“What’s the difference between a geek, a nerd, and a dork?”
This comparison table should help define, describe, and differentiate the three terms.
Oh yeah, it took a nerd to come up with the Venn diagram above.
| Geek | Nerd | Dork | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Definition (from wikipedia.org) | “a peculiar or otherwise odd person, perceived to be overly obsessed with one or more things including those of intellectuality…” | “a person who passionately pursues intellectual activities, esoteric knowledge, or other obscure interests…rather than engaging in more social or popular activities…” | “a quirky, silly and/or stupid, socially inept person, or one who is out of touch with contemporary trends…” |
| Cool possessions | collects them | invents or fixes them | is confused by them |
| If given a job title | actuarial | rocket scientist | outcast |
| Socially inept? | No – in fact, can easily blend with the crowd due to abilities to study (obsess over) “social dating protocols” | Yes – stereotypical broken glasses with white tape, pocket protector, and outdated hair style | Extremely inept! |
| Intelligent? | Not as smart as a nerd, but able to study and memorize facts and figures. | Extremely intelligent! Think Bill Gates (shown above) | Might be intelligent, but social mannerisms overshadow their brains. |
| Obsessed? | Absolutely! A geek is defined by obsessions and depth of trivial knowledge. | Not usually. | Not usually. |
| Star Trek fan? | Can recite entire monologues from all the captains of the Enterprise. KNOWS the names of all the captains. | Can build a working replica Star Trek prop. (Who do you think invented the cell phone?) | Often forgets that characters on Star Trek are just that…characters. |
| This table itself | Studying it | Built it | Doesn’t get it |
Content collected (by one who is more of a geek than a nerd or a dork) from the following sources:
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