Who is a Nerd?
The term, nerd is used to refer to a person who behaves awkwardly around other people, that he is socially inept. A nerd is usually someone who has very strong interests in technical subjects, computers, games, books, comics, etc. Their interests are so strong that others might consider them obsessive. Calling someone a nerd also usually implies that the person has unstylish clothes, hair, etc., mainly because they are not bothered by the style of looks, choosing instead to focus on their interests.
Who is a Geek?
A Geek is someone who is an enthusiast of a particular topic. Geeks know everything about the topic they are interested in. They are more social than the Nerds but are not considered to be ‘cool enough’. They take pride in collecting things related to their subject of interest. People who are into technology have made this term popular and hence we associate the term ‘Geek’ with them.
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.
Also Read: Difference Between Intrapersonal And Interpersonal Communication
Geek vs Nerd
| GEEK | NERD |
| They are expert in a particular kind of lifestyle in which they have deep interest. | They are deeply interested in Academics. |
| They may not possess above-average intelligence hence knowledge varies from very shallow to ‘living encyclopaedia’. | They are extra ordinarily intelligent. |
| They may be interested in anything from computers to cooking to history. Hence they have varied interests. | They are interested in some specific subject like Physics, computer programming etc.They always lean towards bookish knowledge. |
| They are crazy about Gadgets. They are the perfect example of ‘Gadget-Friendly’. | They are huge fans of books. They are perfect examples of ‘Bookworms’. |
| They never spend time to develop their social skills. | They look at the world in a completely different way. Hence never develop social skills. |
| Lacking much social skills, they do not fit in with their peers. | They are socially awkward and keep thinking about their single interest. |
| They might not be as intelligent as Nerds, but they spend so much time on their interest that they gain great in it. | They are experts in the domain of their interest. |
| They love to make fresh things in a fun manner. | They use what they learn from books and apply them to invent their own thinking. |
| They are not so much familiar with the bookish knowledge and find it extremely boring spending time in programming | They are strong in Maths or coding |
| They choose writing, graphics or animations as their profession as they find it creative and ‘out of the box’ | They pursue professions like scientists or teaching as they always tend to attract towards academics. |
| They wear graphic T-shirt which represents their favourite comic or band or movie,Basically anything they are crazy about can be depicted by their T-shirt. | They wear shirts which is buttoned down, sneakers and a thick glass sits on their nose. In short they have somewhat a serious look |
| They attempt to impress by portraying greater merit than they actually possess. | They are introverts. |
| They react in a better way on social interactions. | They don’t know how to respond to conversations in an appropriate manner. |
| They like to do things in a fun filled manner hence do not use unfamiliar terminology. | They use complicated or uncommon terminology while they talk. |
| They show interest in minute details of everything. | They seem to not being interested in the details of daily life. |
| They might notice your current situation and relate it to a movie or a novel. | They focus more on large things such as the future of humans. |
| They enjoy techno music, tech gadgets, board games and films. | They enjoy solitude hence tend to be interested in Second life or games such as Chess. |
| They can go on and on exaggerating about their particular passion, | Though they know a lot about their passion, they cannot talk about it in a great deal. |
| They can get attracted and fall in love with anybody. | They fall in love with nerds only. |
| They are confident enough and can come out of any situation smartly. | They usually get nervous in any adverse situation and don’t get a way to come out of it. |
| Nobody can hurt them easily | They are more vulnerable and cannot revert back to someone’s comments. |
| They are super passionate about their hobbies but at the same time they have a life too. | They are obsessed about their own topic hence consider it as their world and life. |
| Basically a Geek is a Nerd with some selective social skills. | A Nerd is someone who always wish to live the life of a Geek but can’t because of social incompetency. |
Also Read: Difference Between Microenvironment And Macroenvironment
How are Nerds and Geeks similar to each other?
- Nerds and Geeks can be hard to converse with if one doesn’t share their interests.
- They are both smart and knowledgeable when it comes to their field of interest.
- They are both different from the general mass and are never accepted by the popular crowd.
- For the above reason, they are mostly bullied as others do not understand them and are envious of their intellect.
- Both Nerds and Geeks consider the general mass to be inferior and do not mind not being accepted as one of them.
- Both Nerds and Geeks are proud of who they are.
- Both of them are likely to be into Science and Technology.