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Boomy
May 5th, 2007, 12:31 AM
Someone said I had a bit of an inner nerd because I am into computers. I was quite offended. Yes, I know more about computers than your average Joe, and yes, I wear glasses. But it stops there. I am no nerd. I don't play video games, or read those nerd books. You know Lord of the Rings, and stuff like that, I don't even know what they're called! I see myself as one of the coolest guys on earth, aside from maybe Keith Richards and Clint Eastwood. Why is somebody with above average technical knowledge deemed a nerd, or even worse, geek? How about you? Do you consider yourself a nerd, or do your friends think you're nerdy?

%hMa@?b<C
May 5th, 2007, 12:34 AM
imo geek>nerd
yes, I have been called a nerd for using linux/programming/knowing how to solder/etc.

Boomy
May 5th, 2007, 12:43 AM
Uh-oh, I can solder too. When did that become nerdy? lol

FoolsGold
May 5th, 2007, 12:52 AM
I'm more geek than nerd, but if someone considers me a nerd, I take it as a complement rather than an insult.

The world was BUILD by nerds, we should be grateful. :)

Tundro Walker
May 5th, 2007, 12:55 AM
Everyone uses computers these days, so I don't think that qualifies as "nerd factor" anymore. I think the difference between a nerd and someone else is that a nerd doesn't mind doing things the hard way on their computer, while a non-nerd does mind.

EG: a nerd will go to the trouble of coding all kinds of scripts, etc to do some task. A non-nerd will just complain about a task being so difficult until somebody else codes all those scripts, etc letting them just click one little button to do their 2 hours of work. Then, the non-nerd complains when they're fired, because the company can't justify their job if all they do is push a button like George Jetson, letting the computer do all the work from there. Why not just let the nerd code the computer to push its own button.

So, in other words, nerds are employed, and non-nerds end up on unemployment. Until, of course, they take some training classes to learn how to automate computers, then they're employed again, and complain about folks calling them nerds.

Any questions?

:)

reyfer
May 5th, 2007, 01:04 AM
Someone said I had a bit of an inner nerd because I am into computers. I was quite offended. Yes, I know more about computers than your average Joe, and yes, I wear glasses. But it stops there. I am no nerd. I don't play video games, or read those nerd books. You know Lord of the Rings, and stuff like that, I don't even know what they're called! I see myself as one of the coolest guys on earth, aside from maybe Keith Richards and Clint Eastwood. Why is somebody with above average technical knowledge deemed a nerd, or even worse, geek? How about you? Do you consider yourself a nerd, or do your friends think you're nerdy?

What if I read Lord Of The Rings before there were personal computers? Am I a nerd? And why are the words nerd and geek so negative? Would you be driving a modern car, using a modern PC, watch a modern TV without nerds and geeks that actually design and build them?

Avarweth
May 5th, 2007, 01:12 AM
Funny. :) They call me "Dilbert" at work because I wow them with my Google prowess. I haven't told them I run Linux. I don't think they'd understand what I was talking about.

tbroderick
May 5th, 2007, 01:37 AM
I see myself as one of the coolest guys on earth

You are not cool. You know how to solder (not cool) and post on ubuntuforums (again not cool).

Boomy
May 5th, 2007, 01:56 AM
Hey, I think Ubuntu is pretty cool! :guitar:

Extreme Coder
May 5th, 2007, 02:04 AM
Umm... Last week, I borrowed a cell phone from my friend, he had my registered in his list as Ahmad Nerd. I was slightly offended(they think so, because I get high grades, so I must read many books. I swear to God I didn't study or read seriously a book in 3+ months! Also, because of how much computer-stuff I know) I wear hybrid sun/optic glasses (is that what they're called?) He didn't see calling me as a nerd an offense, but I did. Good thing he doesn't know what Geek means :P

Anyway next year I'm getting a Lasic operation to get rid of the glasses :D

Extreme Coder

Chilli Bob
May 5th, 2007, 02:08 AM
I'm a nerd and proud of it!! I've spent the morning listening to Iron Maiden :guitar: and reading Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, and that's the way I like it, daggnabbit!

I'm not as geeky as I used to be, but since I've moved to Linux that is slowly changing. It's made computing fun again, like the feeling I had back in the early eighties when being able to write your own games on a C64 made you a LEGEND in the playground. (At least among the other nerds). I've started on a Python tutorial and it's all coming back. Geek it up, people!

kevmartin
May 5th, 2007, 02:11 AM
If I remember right, the term nerd has been around since before PCs - at least before they were commonplace. It used to be used for anyone that was not in the 'popular' crowd and/or intellectual. The movie 'Revenge of the Nerds' was made in 1984.

If it came to a choice between labeled as being an individual/outcast/misfit/intellectual, and a member of the popular/boring/"cool"/non-intellectual crowd, I'd take the former any day.

My advice - be who you are and take it as a compliment - they are just jealous \\:D/

beercz
May 5th, 2007, 02:33 AM
What's the difference between a geek and a nerd?

What exactly is a geek?

And what exactly is a nerd?

FoolsGold
May 5th, 2007, 02:40 AM
What's the difference between a geek and a nerd?

What exactly is a geek?

And what exactly is a nerd?

A nerd is someone who's obsessed with Star Wars/Trek, reads Physics books for fun, etc

A geek is someone who's obsessed with computers, specifically computers.

At least that's my impression.

Tux Aubrey
May 5th, 2007, 04:45 AM
I see myself as one of the coolest guys on earth, aside from maybe Keith Richards and Clint Eastwood.

orly? Keith out-cools Clint by a a factor of like several infinities. I mean, a news item comes on that Keith snorted his dead father's ashes and people are like "yeah, so?". way cool. Are you really that cool?

Anyway, nerd and geek mean different things to me (although a geek is probably a more specialised type of nerd). I have just been to a computer fair and it was wall-to-wall nerds but I only spotted a few geeks. I guess I am a nerd (I do read books, have a science degree, collect rare plants and I like tropical fish). I don't wear glasses but I can also do things like build and setup a computer, install programs and write simple macros and scripts. I don't think that elevates me to genuine geekhood. You would have to know java or python to be a real geek (as well as read books, etc.) And you would probably have an on-line name like...um...Extreme Coder.

ticopelp
May 5th, 2007, 04:58 AM
I am, and I'm not ashamed of it. I barely consider the term derogatory at all. I find most nerdy people to be very interesting. Mainstream "cool" is a crashing bore.

kevmartin
May 5th, 2007, 05:08 AM
I am, and I'm not ashamed of it. I barely consider the term derogatory at all. I find most nerdy people to be very interesting. Mainstream "cool" is a crashing bore.

Absolutely. It's probably stereotyping that confuses the whole issue. I mean, look at those awful Mac/PC TV ads - ultimate stereotypes of nerd and non-nerd (at least as Apple would like us all to perceive them). I don't think I've ever met anyone really like either of those people in real life, particularly the 'nerd' character (though admittedly I've met very few Mac users to base that on). Apple is trying to say - you can like your computer without being a nerd, by buying a Mac.

I think like the previous poster: nerd = interesting (which is the opposite of the stereotype which says nerd = boring)

ticopelp
May 5th, 2007, 05:11 AM
Absolutely. It's probably stereotyping that confuses the whole issue. I mean, look at those awful Mac/PC TV ads - ultimate stereotypes of nerd and non-nerd (at least as Apple would like us all to perceive them). I don't think I've ever met anyone really like either of those people in real life, particularly the 'nerd' character (though admittedly I've met very few Mac users to base that on). Apple is trying to say - you can like your computer without being a nerd, by buying a Mac.

I dislike those ads so much. They're selling the exact sort of smug, self-aggrandizing stereotype that so many Mac users have to fight. I have a PC and a Mac in my house, and whenever I mention the Mac, I'm instantly pegged as a superficial, snooty zealot by some people. It's so strange. The PC, oddly enough, has no cachet at all.

But you're right on about the stereotypes being harmful and informing so many people's opinions.

Frak
May 5th, 2007, 05:13 AM
I agree with kevmartin, but I still refer to myself as a Geek, in fact, where I work, everybody refers to me as "Geek", but I take it as a compliment :)

steven8
May 5th, 2007, 05:13 AM
I am the exact opposite of a nerd. I am a dren!

tbroderick
May 5th, 2007, 05:17 AM
orly? Keith out-cools Clint by a a factor of like several infinities.

Clint is way cooler then Keith. Keith just imitated Black American music. Nothing cool in that.

ronocdh
May 5th, 2007, 06:02 AM
I can't believe no one's done this yet, but here goes:

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=geek&searchmode=none
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=nerd&searchmode=none
http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=keith+richards&word2=clint+eastwood

I'm here to help.

Boomy
May 5th, 2007, 06:15 AM
I guess I am a nerd (I do read books, have a science degree, collect rare plants and I like tropical fish). I.


Oh no, I have kept tropical fish for quite some time. I can even identify them by Latin names. lol....But I swear I am cool. :)

karellen
May 5th, 2007, 07:00 AM
Umm... Last week, I borrowed a cell phone from my friend, he had my registered in his list as Ahmad Nerd. I was slightly offended(they think so, because I get high grades, so I must read many books. I swear to God I didn't study or read seriously a book in 3+ months! Also, because of how much computer-stuff I know) I wear hybrid sun/optic glasses (is that what they're called?) He didn't see calling me as a nerd an offense, but I did. Good thing he doesn't know what Geek means :P

Anyway next year I'm getting a Lasic operation to get rid of the glasses :D

Extreme Coder

glasses are cool man ;), even not so nerdy as they once were...
(I wear too)
:D

slimdog360
May 5th, 2007, 07:17 AM
Am I still a nerd if I spell it N3RD

~LoKe
May 5th, 2007, 07:20 AM
Pretty sure I became an official nerd when I upgraded from a CRT to two 19" LCD's in one fell swoop. Either that, or when I watercooled my computer.

http://x04d.com/lrepair/00010.jpg

steven8
May 5th, 2007, 07:21 AM
Pretty sure I became an official nerd when I upgraded from a CRT to two 19" LCD's in one fell swoop. Either that, or when I watercooled my computer.

I tried cooling my computer with water, but it just fried the keyboard. :)

use a name
May 5th, 2007, 07:46 AM
Face it, you just can't do anything about it... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xEzGIuY7kw)

use a name
May 5th, 2007, 07:51 AM
Face it, you just can't do anything about it... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xEzGIuY7kw)

Uhoh... Just showed this to my family. The kids reacted with "Hey, daddy!!!"

mrgnash
May 5th, 2007, 07:55 AM
I consider myself a nerd :P

I don't know as much about computers or Linux as most of the folk here, but the very fact that I DO use Linux, would be enough to cement my nerd classification in the minds of most people.

Add to that my love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, etc. etc. and RPGs such as Elder Scrolls Oblivion; and my nerd credentials are complete :P

I'm not fully up with the current trends in nerd-dom though. I don't like anime very much, and give me Mikhail Lermontov or the Bronte sisters over the ossified prose of Tolkein any day.

Tux Aubrey
May 5th, 2007, 08:07 AM
Clint is way cooler then Keith. Keith just imitated Black American music. Nothing cool in that.

Wow, Keith does music too?

(apologies to Barney Gumble)

and as for Boomy's


Oh no, I have kept tropical fish for quite some time. I can even identify them by Latin names. lol....But I swear I am cool.

Ha! I dare you to start a poll on that one! I've known Poecilia reticulata cooler than you,man.

Spr0k3t
May 5th, 2007, 10:03 AM
I once took this geek test which comprised of 150 questions consisting of multiple guess and one shot one-liners. Nothing along the lines of checkboxes or T/F questions. I took the test once and utilized the full hour time limit. The test consisted of random inkblots, memorization skills, personal preferences (where do you sit in a theater type thing), statistics, famous faces, and mensa-like math puzzles. It's not something you could use the internet to lookup the questions to "cheat" with the exception of faces, but I wanted to see how bad I was without cheating.

Here's how the scoring broke down:

Each inkblot had fifty words associated to them with rankings of 0-10 for what the inkblots looked like. A score of 5 on the inkblot was in the domain of geek, 10 rated as nerd with 0 an obvious neither. Total of seven inkblots I scored an average of 6.83.

The personal preferences only measured your left/right hemispheres to tell you which portion of brain you think most from. Rather interesting, I ended up at 49/51 but the test stated it was not entirely accurate.

There was one memory table with 15 objects, I scored 13 of 15 from a thirty second window. The statistics were also similar showing stick figures with various things happening, questions like "how many of them were wearing hats" and so on.

The famous faces I roxxored at... I got 20 for 20.

The mensa-like puzzles were hard and I only scored 62%

Overall, it was the most intricate "geek/nerd" test I ever took part in and seemed to be geared less in computers and more towards general knowledge and recognition skills. The end result was that I could pass as a nerd but my geekdom would enter the room before I arrived. It was the first project of an organizational behaviors class I took. I'll see if I can find this test and post it, but I don't think that professor is instructing at the local college anymore. I'm sure it could be recreated... it was kind of fun.

runningwithscissors
May 5th, 2007, 10:05 AM
Not at all. Neither a geek nor a nerd. I was never very good at studies.

mech7
May 5th, 2007, 10:28 AM
Everybody here is a nerd as they are running linux :lolflag:

MrHorus
May 5th, 2007, 10:40 AM
You aren't really a geek until you are called one by someone that YOU consider to be a geek :)

mech7
May 5th, 2007, 10:49 AM
I am the exact opposite of a nerd. I am a dren!

lol no offence but that is a pretty nerdy comment:)

steven8
May 5th, 2007, 11:05 AM
Originally Posted by steven8
I am the exact opposite of a nerd. I am a dren!


lol no offence but that is a pretty nerdy comment:)

Ding, ding, ding, ding ,ding!!! We have a winner!! :guitar:

STREETURCHINE
May 5th, 2007, 11:22 AM
nope i dont think i fit the nerd profile i hated school,
spent more time in the principles office than i did in class,if i wasnt in the principles office i was off wandering around the streets (wagging).which would put me back in trouble the next day,
i am good with my hands ,i only have to watch a person do something once and i can then do it.

it is the reason i have a hard time following instructions ,never any good at following written commands but show me and it you only have to show me once.

:) :popcorn:

justinlb
May 5th, 2007, 12:43 PM
I not a geek, I'm geek-ish. I'm not exactly obsessed with computers but I like (not really the right word) them and know around 1000 X more about them than my friends. (Actually it's 9978.3333421 X more :) )

I certainly not a nerd, but I get the label because I'd rather try and stay out of trouble at school and I get fairly good grades, oh and I'm in the highest of the four available maths classes :-P .

FoolsGold
May 5th, 2007, 01:16 PM
Long, but appropriate I think...
------

Weird Al's White & Nerdy (Ridin' Parody)


You see me mowin' my front lawn
I know they're all thinkin' I'm so
White and nerdy

Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Can't you see I'm white and nerdy
Look at me I'm white and nerdy

I wanna roll with the gangstas
But so far they all think I'm too
White and nerdy

Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
I'm just too white and nerdy
Really, really white and nerdy

First in my class here at MIT
Got skills, I'm a champion at D&D
M.C. Escher, that's my favorite M.C.
Keep you're 40, I'll just have an Earl Grey tea
My rims never spin, to the contrary
You'll find that they're quite stationary
All of my action figures are cherry
Stephen Hawking's in my library

My MySpace page is all totally pimped out
Got people beggin' for my top eight spaces
Yo, I know pi to a thousand places
Ain't got no grills but I still wear braces
I order all of my sandwiches with mayonnaise
I'm a wiz at Minesweeper, I could play for days
Once you've see my sweet moves, you're gonna stay amazed
My fingers movin' so fast I'll set the place ablaze

There's no killer app I haven't run (run)
At Pascal, well I'm number one (one)
Do vector calculus just for fun
I ain't got a gat, but I got a soldering gun (what?)
Happy Days is my favorite theme song
I could sure kick your butt in a game of ping pong
I'll ace any trivia quiz you bring on
I'm fluent in JavaScript as well as Klingon

Here's the part I sing on...

You see me roll on my Segway
I know in my heart they think I'm
White and nerdy

Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Can't you see I'm white and nerdy
Look at me I'm white and nerdy

I'd like to roll with the gangstas
Although it's apparent I'm too
White and nerdy

Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
I'm just too white and nerdy
How'd I get so white and nerdy

I been browsin', inspectin' X-Men comics
You know I collect 'em
The pens in my pocket, I must protect them
My ergonomic keyboard never leaves me bored
Shoppin' online for deals on some writable media
I edit Wikipedia
I memorized Holy Grail really well
I can recite it right now and have you R-O-T-F-L-O-L

I got a business doing websites (websites)
When my friends need some code, who do they call?
I do HTML for 'em all
Even made a homepage for my dog, yo
I got myself a fanny pack
They were havin' a sale down at The Gap
Spend my nights with a role of bubble wrap
Pop, pop - hope no one sees me gettin' freaky

I'm nerdy in the extreme
Whiter than sour cream
I was in AV club and glee club
And even the chess team
Only question I ever thought was hard
Was "Do I like Kirk or do I like Picard?"
Spend every weekend at the Renaissance Faire

Got my name on my underwear They see me strollin', they're laughin'
And rollin' their eyes cause I'm so
White and nerdy

Just because I'm white and nerdy
Just because I'm white and nerdy
All because I'm white and nerdy
Holy cow, I'm white and nerdy

I wanna bowl with the gangstas
But oh well, it's obvious I'm
White and nerdy

Think I'm just too white and nerdy
Think I'm just too white and nerdy
I'm just too white and nerdy
Look at me I'm white and nerdy

Extreme Coder
May 7th, 2007, 12:20 AM
... And you would probably have an on-line name like...um...Extreme Coder.
I call myself pwn3d:lolflag: My friend registered me with this username on another website, so I decided to not cause myself some confusion and continue the trend on other websites.

Anyway, it's not that I hate being a 'nerd' or 'geek', it's just that I hate the stereotypes that land on you. Geek now means the same to most people as a nerd. And I DEFINITELY DO NOT read physics books for fun, or any other books for fun! I don't know anything about Star (Treks/Wars/Lols) apart from the names. It's just that I'm good with computers. But that fact shows up rarely anywhere but at home ;)

Extreme Coder

Kevanx
May 7th, 2007, 12:52 AM
Have you been watching music videos these days? The meek have truly inherited the earth!! Nerds are everywhere, and in keeping with/anticipating the trend, I installed Ubuntu to impress the ladies.

Belyel
May 7th, 2007, 12:59 AM
Proud to be a nerd. My friends are nerds and we scorn the "cool" people at college. Yeah, i'm sure everyone else does, too. I'm not saying it makes us cool. We argue that being in a frat and getting drunk and being a business major doesn't make you cool. We argue that being an athlete doesn't make you cool. It's all about honor and chivalry, taking care of yourself and enjoying life. If playing video games and reading harry potter, lord of the rings, and other sci-fi books makes us nerds/geeks, well at least we're happy. I'm the nerdiest of the bunch, being the only one to transform to linux, but that just makes me the king. We do all wear glasses by an amazing coincidence, but we are also fit and don't smell.

Oh, btw, keith richards is a douche, not cool at all. Anyone comparing themselves to him is automatically not cool. Not a nerd or a geek, just a loser like him. The true cool people are sean connery, harrison ford (not when he tries to play a romantic comedy), and arnold schwarzenegger (sp?).

euler_fan
May 7th, 2007, 03:51 AM
I'm a math major running Ubuntu on his laptop and who wants to go to grad school in math as well.

Tack on I taught myself enough R (a CLI statistics environment) to be dangerous and would actually _like_ to learn Fortran . . . well, I'll leave the conclusion to all of you.

hurt
May 7th, 2007, 03:53 AM
but i'm one hot nerd/geek ....beware, worst combination.

kevmartin
May 7th, 2007, 03:55 AM
Oh, btw, keith richards is a douche, not cool at all. Anyone comparing themselves to him is automatically not cool. Not a nerd or a geek, just a loser like him. The true cool people are sean connery, harrison ford (not when he tries to play a romantic comedy), and arnold schwarzenegger (sp?).

This illustrates the fact that not only are nerd and geek totally subjective terms - cool also is.

jfca283
May 7th, 2007, 07:18 AM
if you speak a language made for a movie/series/book then you are definitly a nerd...almost a stupid, boring, no sex guy

Tux Aubrey
May 7th, 2007, 07:59 AM
Does anyone here know the Klingon for "almost a stupid, boring, no sex guy" ?

And I assume that it is OK to ROFL over "The true cool people are sean connery, harrison ford (not when he tries to play a romantic comedy), and arnold schwarzenegger (sp?)." Hunter S. T. would be spinning in his grave (oh, that's right, Johnny Depp fired his remains into the atmosphere in a giant rocket - NOW THAT IS COOL!)

ticopelp
May 7th, 2007, 08:03 AM
Does anyone here know the Klingon for "almost a stupid, boring, no sex guy" ?

And I assume that it is OK to ROFL over "The true cool people are sean connery, harrison ford (not when he tries to play a romantic comedy), and arnold schwarzenegger (sp?)." Hunter S. T. would be spinning in his grave (oh, that's right, Johnny Depp fired his remains into the atmosphere in a giant rocket - NOW THAT IS COOL!)

Well, I laughed, I know that.

bonzodog
May 7th, 2007, 09:58 AM
Absolute geek and proud of it. Yes, I'm married, and my wife has to put up with a lot. Strangely though, she only knows how to use Linux, not windows, as she has never had to use it before.

I prefer to think of myself as a cool geek, typical dress is black jeans, with black boots, long sleeve black t-shirt. A computer-hacker-esque guy.

omns
May 7th, 2007, 10:48 AM
I think I'd fall into the reformed category these days :P

macogw
May 7th, 2007, 12:38 PM
I'm unfortunately still a nerd. I'm not good enough to get the title "geek" yet, but I'm working on it.

As Mr Horus said, the way that works is, you're not a geek until someone that you look up to as a geek bestows the title upon you. There's a few hackers who are trying to "train" me. One said he'll tell me when I reach "geek" status instead of just "a little bit geeky."

machine god > hacker > geek > nerd > dork

machine god == kernighan, ken thompson, ada lovelace type of people
hacker == RMS, Linus
nerd = Steve Urckle

Kevanx
May 8th, 2007, 01:15 AM
I've always used the word "nerd" in a social sense, and geek in a hobbyist sense.
In other words, I might be a geek in terms of my strong interest in graphic novels (or ultimate frisbee, for that matter) but I'm not a nerd, in that I am not socially awkward. I think people can be geeks about anything that they get excited about.

meman63
May 8th, 2007, 02:12 AM
I am,have always been,a geek

When I was a little one,I would read WHOLE ENCYCLOPEDIAS(I read the whole set of WorldBook
at least twice!).When I went to the bathroom,I had DICTIONARIES to read!

When computers came out...ie: IBM PersonalPC's,Tandy's(with cassettes to load stuff),.....there was a little Zenith,can't remember what it was called,Z100 or something.Had to have it!100 dollars!

I still read tomes of technical stuff most people would not even think about ......unless they are a scholar or such.

H*ll Yeah,I'm a geek,and proud of it!Still loving learning,ALWAYS!

Just my two cents worth,
Red

PS I also boxed as a kid and still loves geekdom!

a12ctic
May 8th, 2007, 02:16 AM
Generally I'm refered to a scene kid but the people that know me real well call me a nerd on occasion.

bchaffin72
May 8th, 2007, 02:18 AM
I call myself geek. What others may call me is entirely up to them.:)

C-A
May 8th, 2007, 02:22 AM
I am not a nerd or a geek but I see nothing wrong with being one. People are what they are and there are as many "cool" nerds and geeks and non-nerds/geeks.

goumples
May 8th, 2007, 02:27 AM
Yes, i r nerd.

ageilers
May 13th, 2007, 09:23 AM
Geek, yes. Nerd, no. But my first girlfriend used to call me a nerd, and I am more knowledgeable about everything but sports than almost everyone I know...does that make me a nerd?



There are only 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't!

foresth
May 13th, 2007, 09:28 AM
Do you consider yourself a nerd, or do your friends think you're nerdy?


Not at all :].

stoodleysnow
June 27th, 2007, 09:30 AM
The incinuations created by this question could well be applied in the positive sense to my personality.8)
In other words, most likely.:p

steven8
June 27th, 2007, 09:35 AM
As the starters of both of these threads:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=484688

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=484705

I feel comfortable in claiming to be the standard setter for nerd-dom.

garba
June 27th, 2007, 10:56 AM
Someone said I had a bit of an inner nerd because I am into computers. I was quite offended. Yes, I know more about computers than your average Joe, and yes, I wear glasses. But it stops there. I am no nerd. I don't play video games, or read those nerd books. You know Lord of the Rings, and stuff like that, I don't even know what they're called! I see myself as one of the coolest guys on earth, aside from maybe Keith Richards and Clint Eastwood. Why is somebody with above average technical knowledge deemed a nerd, or even worse, geek? How about you? Do you consider yourself a nerd, or do your friends think you're nerdy?

well yes, i think of myself as a mildly geeky type of guy, and i am proud of that

@trophy
June 27th, 2007, 06:52 PM
According to the naming conventions I use, Geek means someone who is cool and works with computers (the mac guy your company hired to do all their photoshop work) and Nerd means someone who isn't cool because they only identify with computers (the bearded unix guru who sits in the back room muttering to himself in binary). In other words, the main difference is that geeks can get laid.

I would therefore be classified as a geek! ;-) (although back in high school I was a nerd)

herbster
June 27th, 2007, 07:34 PM
Being cool is a BS label that just means "I'm such a weenie that what others think of me heavily influences my behaviour". Besides we all have our idiosyncracies and "geeky" things we like in some way shape or form.

I haven't heard anyone say "nerd" in a long, long time. I even forgot the word exists before I just browsed this thread, hehe. I hear "geek" often. And like others have mentioned in this thread, yeah, computer and internet usage is so widespread today it isn't even close to a factor in qualifying one as a "nerd/geek" or what have you. I remember 10 or 11 years ago being on BBS's and getting excited about going from 14.4 to 33.6, now that was geeky for the time. I was also the only one in my family who knew what a computer even was. Now my whole family uses one and we even email each other, which would've sounded insane if suggested years ago.

Times change!

samschoice
June 27th, 2007, 08:18 PM
BRUCE WILLIS!!!
He's the coolest guy on earth. I don't consider myself a nerd, I consider other people behind the times. Its like the turn of the last century. Some people were living in New York, and other people still didn't have running water and were using outhouses. Right now people other people are using outhouses (old bad technology) and we're rocking in a new era.

(Please don't check that statement for historical accuracy)