Difference Between Geek and Nerd

Are you a Geek or a Nerd?

Well, that doesn’t matter to anyone except if someone feels offensive about it. Instead, many people take it as a compliment for themselves. But that’s a whole perspective of each human, living in the world. You may find calling ‘Nerd’ and ‘Geek’ in two different ways.

Either someone appreciates you for your work, dedication, or achievements. Else, it might be as a provocation out of anger. That’s perception, we can identify in the real-life scenario.

Still, people have developed thoughts in their minds that nerds and geeks are the same. But it’s wrong. Instead, it’s about your self-awareness of how you take things.

Consider a real-life scenario:

If someone has an expectation and it fails, that may lead to frustrations, sadness, and low self-respect. Doesn’t it?

So, if anyone calls you a nerd, and you take it as an appreciation, that’s your vision (until someone says that wickedly). Or if you think yourself as a different personality (like I’m the kind of deliberate guy), you will find that offensive toward your temperament. And that will lead to disappointment and sadness.

Now, You are getting the point.

Coming back to the differences, I would instead claim both words are not the same. They have different meanings in different states. Let’s first start with their meanings as well as definitions.

Watch out this video to make your mind more clear.

Meanings (Dictionary)

Geek

1. an unfashionable or socially inept person.

“a performer at a carnival or circus whose show consists of bizarre or grotesque acts.”

2. engage in or discuss computer-related tasks obsessively or with great attention to technical detail.

“We all geeked out for a bit and exchanged ICQ/MSN/AOL/website information.”

Nerd

1. a foolish or contemptible person who lacks social skills or is boringly studious.

“I was a serious nerd until I discovered girls and cars.”

2. a single-minded expert in a particular technical field.

“a computer nerd.”

Now, what do you understand from their meanings?

Both Geek and Nerd have different meanings. Geek is considered to be a socially awkward person, and at the same time, can be a tech enthusiast. Similarly, that’s the same in the case of a Nerd. Either you identify nerds as foolish and stupid persons; or an expert technical person.

Now, you understand how a way of perception can actually bring the difference.

Definitions

Geek – “A geek is a person who is obsessed with his/her interest in any particular field. An intense person who loves collecting information about many subjects but is not a practitioner. Geeks may seem like foolish people to others, and they are not affected by what other people think of them.”

Nerd – “A nerd is an intellectual, intelligent, and anxious person who craves to become an expert in a specific field. They are more keen on learning about the topic, and at the same time, they can be considered as an introvert or reserved people. Nerds are difficult to identify than geeks socially as they tend to be reclusive.”

That’s the definition of Geek and Nerd. You need to understand the slightest pin that makes them different. Although they are similar (I too consider that) but at the same time, they can be differentiated. Both Geeks and Nerds possess identical kinds of traits, but they also possess different characteristics, which makes them unique with their identities.

Difference Between Geek and Nerd

Characteristics	Geek	Nerd
Identicals	Interested in things that others are not, highly obsessed, and foolish to others	Intelligent, introvert, and anxious to understands things
Social Presence	Wear something that they have interest in, discuss their benefits with others, and can be identified easily	Nerds are shy type people who don’t show themselves in front of others and cannot be found easily
Appearance	Most geeks consider themselves as hipsters and will always present their object of interest	Nerds really don’t care about their appearance. They just dress like clumsy and don’t like to show off
Tech Savvy	Geeks are more likely to be tech enthusiasts and will collect all the information, gadgets, and other things about their topic of interest	Nerds are experts in the technical field, and they are more likely to learn new things in their area of interest
Personal Life	They always try to keep their things neat and clean and will be active in their living style	Nerds are usually dull in their life. They keep things messy as they are more focused on their career and interests
Profession	Most geeks are IT pros, technicians, designers, and engineers	Most nerds are scientists, hard-core programmers, and artists

Geek Vs. Nerd Infographic

Here we present to you an artistic infographic that describes the traits of both geeks as well as nerds. The infographic is created by Kerby Satterfield and published on Daily Infographic.

Image Source

Final Words on Geeks and Nerds

So, yes, there are differences between a geek and a nerd. They can also be found similar, but they have their own unique traits concerning interest, lifestyle, and other people. Though most often these two terms are overlapped and considered the same, it’s not. You can more easily differentiate between geek and nerd when you socialize with them in real life.

On the other hand, acknowledge that both terms have different meanings under different circumstances. Not to disrespect any geek or nerd, but to clarify about technical relation between both the ends.