How to Tell the Difference Between Nerds and Geeks

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Part One: The Geek, Defined

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   Understand the origins of the geek. In order to fully appreciate the modern geek, one must find the roots of geekdom.
   • Back in the early 1900s, when traveling carnivals were popular, there was a performer called the "geek." His job was to perform bizarre and disgusting acts for the amusement of the locals. Notably, this included biting the heads off live chickens^[1].
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   Compare to the geek of today. The geek, today, rarely bites the heads off chickens. Instead, a geek is somebody who is generally very knowledgable—even to the point of obsession—about a topic.
   • Being a geek gained traction when self-adopted by computer programmers and other technical people, but has since become more mainstream. There are wine geeks, car geeks, and Lord of the Rings geeks, each of which closely follows the minutiae of their chosen obsession.
   • To further clarify, it's important to note that a geek are generally social. They have their fascination in what makes them unique, but you probably wouldn't know of their geekitude unless they told you about it.

Part Two: The Nerd, Defined

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   Uncover the origins of the word "nerd." The word "nerd" was coined in 1954, by a young doctor by the name of Seuss, in a line that read, "A nerkle, a nerd, and a seersucker too!" If you don't wish to call somebody so trite a word as "nerd," you can also call them a "seersucker."^[2]
   • The general connotation is of an irritating, unattractive person who may be brilliant, but who choses to focus on non-social pursuits.^[3]
   • Another definition of "nerd" is a four letter word with a six-figure income.^[4]

Part Three: Comparing Geeks and Nerds

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   Compare communication skills. Geeks and nerds may share similar outward traits—or not—but when you compare their approach to life, the differences become apparent.
   • Nerds love using jargon or unfamiliar terminology in their dialogue, whereas geeks will use obscure references abundantly.
     • For example, a nerd might say "That's an overused Foley. The SD must be lazy."
     • The geek would say, of the same thing, "Oh! I love how Peter Jackson uses the Wilhelm Scream in every movie!"
   • Geeks often take interest in the microcosmic details of life, such as noticing that your present situation is much like one from a news article or novel. Nerds will be seemingly uninterested in the details of daily life, being more focused on the macroscopic, such as scientific possibilities and the future of humankind.
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   Compare interests. You will know them by how they play.
   • A geek may enjoy board games, film (and may follow directors, composers, or key grips obsessively), tech gadgets, hacking, and techno music.
   • A nerd enjoys solitary pursuits like programming and Second LIfe, or games like chess and go.
   • A geek is a Mac. A nerd is a PC.
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   Compare their social skills. While they both have obsessive traits about their passions, they diverge when it comes to normal human interactions.
   • A geek has normal social skills, though they can be prone to being pretentious and long-winded, especially when the topic happens to land on their particular passion. Then, they may not let you go until they've explained exactly how this widget works, and the history of the team that created it.
   • A nerd is generally more introverted. They may know a great deal about exactly the same thing a geek specializes in, but getting them to talk about it can take some doing.
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   Find out who they love. It's a universal truism that geeks can fall for anybody (though the reverse may not be true). However, nerds fall only for nerds. This may be a survival tactic, but nobody knows for sure.
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   Discover where they work. While nerds and geeks are both intelligent and educated, there are some career paths that appeal only to one or the other:
   • In addition to populating IT departments the world over, you can find geeks in artistic jobs like web design, graphic design, or game designs. You may find geeks behind the bar, in your local record store, or pulling espressos at the coffee shop.
   • Look for nerds to be working as a rocket scientist, or programming the software that the IT department has to manage. They may be an engineer, or an inventor, or even a brilliant recluse who rarely sees the light of day. You might also find them behind the counter at the last remaining video store.
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   Enjoy the differences. Geeks, nerds, dweebs, dorks, twerps, dolts, and norms all have their niche, and all have something to contribute to this great world of ours. It's fun to laugh and draw out stereotypes, but keep in mind that unless proven otherwise, everybody has value.
   • Keep in mind that most geeks are part nerd, and most nerds are part geek. Sometimes the line between is very fuzzy, and remember these two definitions from the Urban Dictionary
   • Nerd: The person you will one day call "boss"
   • Geek: The people you picked on in high school and wind up working for as an adult.