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Difference Between Nerd and Geek
(neon.nightbulb.net)
Post funny things about programming here! (Or just rant about your favourite programming language.)
If this is a joke, it’s going over my head. But as I understand it:
Geek: Socially Acceptable, Really smart about a particular topic, or in general. Nerd: Socially awkward, really smart about a topic or in general. Dork: Socially awkward, not especially bright.
How I remember it being used as a kid in the 80s/90s and were about less popular things like math/science/chess/D&D/band/etc.
Nerd - Knows a lot of minutes about a thing, but is generally introverted in how they approach it. They will discuss it calmly with other needs, hang out in small groups, and might even hide their interest if they are bullied.
Geek - Knows a lot of minute about a nerdy thing, but is extremely excited about it externally. They 'geek out about the thing and want to share it with everyone.
I assume they were used differently in different places and times, so that's just my experience.
That's more or less my understanding, a nerd knows a lot of useless random facts, but a geek will tell them to you whether you asked or not.