let's get this started

[(deleted)]

fringey wrote: guitarkat wrote: fringey wrote: ... But, I would really classify myself as rocker nerd. ...


Nice



I just bought myself a PT Cruiser, trading in my POS 16+ year old minivan. The salesman was amused by all the KISS stickers on the van, my KISS checkbook, my KISS wallet (I AM a General in the KISS Army, after all!), etc. I told him it would not be an hour before the new Cruiser had KISS stikers on it. He laughed. About two hours later, when I had to go back to the dealer with some paperwork, he almost fell over whne saw KISS stickers on the newly christened Blue Beauty, KISS Kruiser. I had been holding onto 8 stickers I bought in Myrtle Beach when I went to the grand opening of the KISS Coffeehouse this summer, just to put on my new car when I got it. Yep. I AM a rocker nerd!!!!

Patrick
a.k.a. Fringey, The Fringe Element
"A life lived without passion is a life not lived."



LOL Do you have a picture of it. That's really cool!

[garridan]

(removed)

This is a topic I started based on several, several hours of researching the subject and the community at large places emphasis on Geeks being the top of the food chain because they have completely let go of the idea that a social life is in their interest. Plus they also make money on their love.
Go ahead and tell me what you think, and also check out the archives on this comic. Kristy( the writer ) is truly nerdy and classifies herself as a "Geek" because she makes money off her comic. I for one feel that she is more of a Nerdcore type person like me.

I am intelligent and have great social skills. I have also done it all in regards to nerd entertainment.( TCG, A/V, Games, Chees, etc. )
In fact I still do it all. For a while, I thought I was just a nerd because of my gamer status giving me social skills, but since I also have to hide my RPG side I went with Nerdcore.

The continued abuse of the ellipsis will deteriorate the integrity of the impact the notion insinuates.

[fringey]

guitarkat wrote: fringey wrote: guitarkat wrote: fringey wrote: ... But, I would really classify myself as rocker nerd. ...


Nice



I just bought myself a PT Cruiser, trading in my POS 16+ year old minivan. The salesman was amused by all the KISS stickers on the van, my KISS checkbook, my KISS wallet (I AM a General in the KISS Army, after all!), etc. I told him it would not be an hour before the new Cruiser had KISS stikers on it. He laughed. About two hours later, when I had to go back to the dealer with some paperwork, he almost fell over whne saw KISS stickers on the newly christened Blue Beauty, KISS Kruiser. I had been holding onto 8 stickers I bought in Myrtle Beach when I went to the grand opening of the KISS Coffeehouse this summer, just to put on my new car when I got it. Yep. I AM a rocker nerd!!!!

Patrick
a.k.a. Fringey, The Fringe Element
"A life lived without passion is a life not lived."



LOL Do you have a picture of it. That's really cool!



Sorry to be so long since I have been on this forum! No, I keep tweaking it with seat covers and stuff and wanting to take pictures. Then I decide the car is too dirty and it needs washed before I take pics. Then it takes forever to find a string of sunny days so I dont waste the car wash, etc. The list goes on. But, I WILL take pics of it this weekend. :-)

Patrick
a.k.a. Fringey, The Fringe Element
"A life lived without passion is a life not lived."

[pyrathas (deleted)]

Hmmm....
Well I always believed geekdom was what you choose, however later I sat in my room listening to crazy frog and realized something, some people are born into it. One thing that gave me this realization was Asberger Syndrome. Its a form of Autism that some people see as a disease. Those Diagnosed with it see things in a whole new light, have high I.Q.s and faster brain responses. But these unlucky individuals also have quirks. Theres the Socially inept, staring into space, infactuation over a specific item, or items, and many normal people considered them wierd. Basically I would say these people are the "true nerds". But I also have been diagnosed with this as well so maybe its not my place to say. However I say Im a Geek.

[darian069]

I admit i am a geek. and proud of it. and let me say bravo to u nerds for the intellect, way to go. but i need a life. so geek it is. ( dorks and/or dweebs just suck btw )

[tankgirl72]

OMG xexox8010 about killed me. I was crying laughing so hard with the nerd, geek, dweeb, dork bit.
Quote: There was no movie called Revenge of the Geeks!
I have to say I jump from category to category.. I can have total dork moments, and embarrass myself to the humorous entertainment of others.
I can also have my nerd moments, and leave people asking HOW the heck did you do THAT?!?
Btw.. what about the Spaz?
The one that is so excited about their interests that they talk a mile a minute, and speak in a code that some can't even begin to understand. Spaz to the degree that they have been known to INJURE themself from the radical method of conversation. lol
Not that I would know anything about this... *whistles and tries to avoid eye contact*

Doc from back to the future.. was a Spaz lol

[benjammin47]

Interesting debate...

Here's the way I see it. Each category has its ups and downs, and there is no "top of the food chain" IMO.

Nerds - These people can generally be distinguished because they talk about how intelligent they are, or at least walk around with that kind of attitude. That's not to say that they AREN'T intelligent; on the contrary, nerds are often known for their superior mathematical or other information-based skills and their ability to come up with solutions to a problem or little-known facts that leave everyone else scratching their heads. The problem is that they are socially inept, which is why they don't realize how pretentious it is to go around talking about their high IQ scores. The fact that they bothered to take an IQ test in the first place is a testament to the defiant self-righteousness of the nerd community.

Dorks - While the term "dork" does arguably have the most negative connotation of the three, there are nonetheless many who proudly identify themselves by this label. This is because dorks are generally the more socially relaxed, laid back types, who usually don't feel threatened enough to stand up for themselves. Their costume parties and anime festivals set them up for a world of ridicule from the moment they start quoting Monty Python in public. They are not always distinguished for their intellectual abilities, but have wild, unrestricted imaginations that do not even give their sneering contemporaries the time of day. However, dorks are almost always plagued by ADD or are just very easily distracted. This laziness is the curse of the dork population, and the reason why the vast majority of them seldom accomplish anything of significance in the broader scope of modern life.

Geeks - This label is perhaps the most broad of the three. I like the previously mentioned definition of a geek as anyone who is passionate about a specific thing. Geeks are the gray area that blends between nerds and dorks, ranging from nerds with better social skills to dorks with better motivational skills. However, they tend to focus on a single field of study, whether it be sports data, J.R.R. Tolkien, or C++. Therefore there are practically countless varieties of geeks, and they are often quite successful and comfortable within their areas of interest. Yet by focusing so much attention on their specific fields, geeks tend to miss out on much of what life has to offer, and are probably more clueless about unfamiliar subjects than nerds and dorks.

"Dweebs" - The term "dweeb" is nothing more than a derogatory label applied equally to nerds, dorks, and geeks by the masses who are more obsessed with social norms. Anyone who refers to themselves as a "dweeb" in a manner other than jest is probably suffering from self-esteem issues.

I think the uniting factor of these three is that any one class is capable of acting, at times, like another class. A person from any of these categories can occasionally do something "nerdy" -- that is, make an obscure reference or show a surprising moment of intellect -- do something "dorky" -- for example, singing along to a cartoon and then laughing lightly at themselves afterward -- or do something "geeky" -- generally, revealing an unexpected expertise on a certain subject.

Whew! Ok, I'm done.

"What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?"
- Dr. Robert Schuller

[stardustgypsy (deleted)]

lauratear wrote: Shockingly I agree with that. I'm a nerd and we are definatly more colleged based. As for geeks, I always thought of them as the type to go to some star wars convention, not that that isn't interesting to. And dorks. Come on...are they even in the same catagory as us? Seriously.

Ok, hey that's ----in sad!! I'm a dork! Although I feel that I am very adept in things like biology and I also know alot of useles trivia. Look do you really want to become as juvenile and infantile as all the jocks, preps and airheads?? My goodness. Subculture united, not divided.

*I dissapear*

[amyzing (deleted)]

I was curious about where I fell on the spectrum, so I took the okcupid quiz. I came out nerd. I thought I was more Geek.

I think for me, it has changed over time, when I started to work professionally in my geeky fields of choice, I started to transition to nerd in those fields.

I think also it is situational for many people. Geek/Nerd/Dork impulses and responses are often dependent on the prevailing conditions.

O god they were right. listen to me. I AM a nerd.

[tankgirl72]

I JUST took a nerd geek dork test on okcupid and the final score...
69 % Nerd, 52% Geek, 34% Dork
I knew I was a nerd, but never knew my dork levels were so high. lol
Maybe this is the scientific formula for my Spaz theory lol

[id10tprotocol_PREV (deleted)]

It's all based on stereotype.

[gigantor1313 (deleted)]

Nerds are people who enjoy something nerdy (ie reading, computing, reading comics, etc). There are many different types of nerds and even some crossbreeds with jocks. For example the Sports nerd, most commonly seen yelling at his jumbo tv at the coach because if he doesn't put in his linebacker, he won't be able to score points with his fantasy football player. (BTW Fantasy Football is D and D for jocks) Science nerds, no explanation needed, movie nerds, and so and and so forth.

Geeks are nerds evolved, the next step on the evolutionary chain. They actually make money from their efforts for the ecentric. Geek Squad, Comic book store owner, Video Game Consultant, WOW miner, and so on. They love what they do and do what they love.

Now for the most part, these two types of people get along "normaly" in society. They walk upright, they bathe, mothers aren't hiding their childrens face from them. They are socially adaptable. Then comes the "Dork"

Dorks are a whole different subclass of human. Dorks cannot function beyond their front door. Aside from the knuckle dragging, they can usually only talk about one thing. They make no attempts to talk about anything but their one passion. Be it anime, sports, comics, movies, games or whatever. The fervor of which they explain in detail about how Goku could beat Supermans --- in a fight rivels those Cacious Clay and Joe Louis.

These are just opinions and oberservations of 7 years behind the counter at video game stores and comic book shops. I've seen every kind of nerd, geek and dork walk through my retail doors and most of them are great people. But the ones who leave a terminal imprint on my very soul, *shudders* those are the ones I pray for. Not in the conventional sort of "well bless his heart" kind of way but, "holy s--- I hope I never see that ----er again" kinda way. Like a Vietnam vet, I spent my time along the De Nang river; I can still smell the dew lifting off the DVD's in the morning I worked at Suncoast.

[alcazar_PREV (deleted)]

`Over here in the Nether Lands (I prefer this spelling ) one basically only encounters the word ''nerd'', purely as an insult. Hence I prefer to use the word ''geek''.

HOWEVER, I have been invloved with a variety of shops and conventions 'behind the counter' so I do have to agree with gigantor on the subcategories.

[waanderlust]

I've always considered myself a geek because of my obsessions for "uncool" things, or things that could be cool in moderation but that I go overboard about. Examples: Star Trek (TNG), Lord of the Rings (and all things Tolkien), HG Wells novels, Michael Jackson, Steve Buscemi movies... the list goes on. I'm certainly above average intelligence but nowhere near as book smart as a nerd. However, I have very little knowledge of technology. So my question is: can I still be a geek without being technosavy? Or have I invented a new category? :)

[alcazar_PREV (deleted)]

Personally I think it's perfectly possible to be a "geek" without being technosavy.

For starters, the whole concept of nerd/geek/anorak etc. basically boils down to:
- having one or more interests that are unconventional;
- pursueing those interests with a passion;
- have the brainpower to understand the passion is unconvential;
and
- don't give a rat's donkey whether or not the passion is unconventional.

Passion for e.g. technology and/or science used to be pretty conventional in the West. As late as the fifties/early sixties new technological breakthroughs - and the people who made them - were lauded, even in popular culture. In 50's 'popcorn movies' for example, the heroes often were scientists themselves.
In later years, however, technology and 'hard' science became suspect ('Gaia-polluttant, animal-testing Nuke-maniacs') and hence being interested in technology became an anomaly. The increasing commercialism and 'sex-sells'-ideology didn't help either, as time spent studying wasn't time spent prettying and beefing up, which rapidly became the cultural norm.
The result of all this was that in the West interest in technology has become 'nerdish', and thought off as 'typically geek'. The funny thing is of course that by Western standards e.g. academics from India would almost all be considered nerdish, if they were white-caucasians living in the West.

TO SUMMARIZE:
Whether a passion is conventional or not is a cultural question. This factor is most pronounced in the difference in interest in technology. As a subjective, cultural percieved factor I think the whole tech-issue can hardly be defining for a person's being.

Or I just like the word 'geek' and am a total jinx whith computers myself :P