Geek or nerd.

[roadsweeper]

los angeles said:

What is the difference between a geek and a nerd? I tend to think a geek gets it done, a nerd doesn't. Am I right? And which category do you place yourself? LA

A nerd asks such questions. A geek answers them.

[roadsweeper]

Seriously, I believe a nerd is a term for a 'gawky' academic if you know what I mean? A geek can be thought of as a nerd whose vice is computers as opposed to school textbooks.

Edited to correct dodgy spelling.

>> Edited by roadsweeper on Tuesday 14th June 01:22

[Trooper2]

roadsweeper said:

los angeles said: What is the difference between a geek and a nerd? I tend to think a geek gets it done, a nerd doesn't. Am I right? And which category do you place yourself? LA A nerd asks such questions. A geek answers them.

Bravo!

[davidd]

A nerd watches star Trek on the telly, a geek downloads it and watches it on a strange linux build.

The nerd talks about star trek to his mate

The geek talks about it via icq and newsgroups to other geeks

D

[pdV6]

roadsweeper said:

A nerd asks such questions. A geek answers them.

Geek.

[Bodo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geek
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerd

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerd said:

Nerds and geeks Pundits and observers dispute the relationship of the terms nerd and geek to one another. Some view the geek as a less technically skilled nerd. Some factions maintain that "nerds" have both technical skills and social competence, whereas geeks display technical skills while socially incompetent; others hold an exactly reversed view, with geek serving as the socially competent counterpart of the socially incompetent nerd, and call themselves geeks with pride (compare Geekcorps, an organization that sends people with technical skills to Third World countries to assist in computer infrastructure development). Some regional differences may exist in the use of the words nerd and geek. Some claim that on the North American west coast the population prefers the term geek to nerd, while the North American east coast prefers the word nerd to geek (see Ellen Spertus's page on The Sexiest Geek Alive ( www.mills.edu/ACAD_INFO/MCS/SPERTUS/Geek/ )). Others on the east coast dispute this, claiming that they have always found nerd used disparagingly and geek used in a positive light. In Britain, this latter view tends to apply — nerd has more offensive connotations than geek, which speakers of British English often use affectionately. Compare anorak. The word nerd gained currency from the 1950s at a time when many school students did not see excelling at school as "cool". Therefore nerd originated as a derogatory word (although some people now consider it a compliment), while the term geek became widespread later (1980s) and has avoided many of the negative connotations. Geek as a milder version of nerd may also apply to socially insignificant people, while nerd refers more to socially inept people.

>> Edited by Bodo on Tuesday 14th June 11:58

[JonRB]

His Geekness Bill Gates is the King of Geeks.

All Hail King Bill.

I've always considered being a geek something to be proud of. I wouldn't want to be thought of (or called) a nerd though.

So I guess that means I agree with the Wiki entry.

>> Edited by JonRB on Tuesday 14th June 18:02

[CraigAlsop]

A geek was originally someone who bit the heads of chickens at an American carnival, as a sideshow act.

[randlemarcus]

Gimp - See Pulp Fiction for an illustrated answer. A male submissive.
Freak - If its the "modern" definition you are after, rather than the bearded lady one: www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=freak&r=f

[zumbruk]

randlemarcus said:

Gimp - See Pulp Fiction for an illustrated answer. A male submissive. Freak - If its the "modern" definition you are after, rather than the bearded lady one: www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=freak&r=f

Not to be confused with a "phreak", which is something else entirely.

[406]

zumbruk said:

Not to be confused with a "phreak", which is something else entirely.

Ah, Rick James was "His Royal Phreakyness"

[roadsweeper]

zumbruk said:

randlemarcus said: Gimp - See Pulp Fiction for an illustrated answer. A male submissive. Freak - If its the "modern" definition you are after, rather than the bearded lady one: <a href="www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=freak&r=f">www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=freak&r=f</a> Not to be confused with a "phreak", which is something else entirely.

Didn't there used to be 'phonefreakers' in the olden days, or do they still exist?

[roadsweeper]

los angeles said:

The definitions of "freak" and "gimp" are all very well, but I came across the words in reference to computer folk. Have they evolved into descriptions of computer types?

Phreak is a kind of hacker specialising in phones IIRC.

Gimp in the computer world is either a submissive es described previously or the Graphic Image Manipulation Program (again IIRC).