{"id":397,"date":"2015-04-26T14:31:54","date_gmt":"2015-04-26T21:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/?p=397"},"modified":"2016-05-17T18:29:57","modified_gmt":"2016-05-18T01:29:57","slug":"not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/26\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Ashamed: Geek and Nerd"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you haven&#8217;t already, please read the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/na\/na-intro.php\" target=\"_blank\">introduction post<\/a>. That will give you context for this page.<\/p>\n<hr width=\"50%\" \/>\n<p>This is a topic that merited two places on the list, but is probably best handled in one post.<\/p>\n<p>To start with, some of you would probably like some definitions. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s start with a comic from the geeky and nerdy, depending on the day, xkcd. What those of you unfamiliar with the comic ought to know is that the alt text (when you mouseover a picture, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the text that might pop up and is traditionally used as a way to describe the graphic to those with visual limitations) is often part of the punchline. Which is why I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be noting the punchline (the alt text) for you.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/xkcd.com\/747\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/imgs.xkcd.com\/comics\/geeks_and_nerds.png\" alt=\"The definitions I grew up with were that a geek is someone unusually into something (so you could have computer geeks, baseball geeks, theater geeks, etc) and nerds are (often awkward) science, math, or computer geeks. But definitions vary.\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Alt Text: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The definitions I grew up with were that a geek is someone unusually into something (so you could have computer geeks, baseball geeks, theater geeks, etc) and nerds are (often awkward) science, math, or computer geeks. But definitions vary.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like something with more maths or even just more words, this blog post might make you happy. It begins offering these definitions:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>In my mind, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153geek\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153nerd\u00e2\u20ac\u009d are related, but capture different dimensions of an intense dedication to a subject:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>geek \u00e2\u20ac\u201c An enthusiast of a particular topic or field. Geeks are \u00e2\u20ac\u0153collection\u00e2\u20ac\u009d oriented, gathering facts and mementos related to their subject of interest. They are obsessed with the newest, coolest, trendiest things that their subject has to offer.<\/li>\n<li>nerd \u00e2\u20ac\u201c A studious intellectual, although again of a particular topic or field. Nerds are \u00e2\u20ac\u0153achievement\u00e2\u20ac\u009d oriented, and focus their efforts on acquiring knowledge and skill over trivia and memorabilia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>As you can see, the two people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s definitions are similar but not exactly the same. And the line between geek and nerd can get fuzzy. For me, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d probably say it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something like geeks are motivated by love of a thing or topic (which might lead to wanting knowledge about it but isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the same as being motivated by love of knowledge), whilst nerds are motivated by love of knowledge (and, in my head, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s generally knowledge about academic or technical topics\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhereas geeks can be about pop cultural things\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand particularly even the dry bits). For instance, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s take two people who are into space. If the person\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s main skew is looking at beautiful photos and that scratches their itch, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d call them a geek. If their thirsty brain wants to collect data and terms and they thrive on dry and technical bits, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d call them a nerd. (I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d say I used to be equally both a nerd and geek for space, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m now mainly a geek for it.) In general, I think you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d need to be a nerd for something in order to be a scientist or something on that level for whatever the topic is.<\/p>\n<p>Again, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just how I see it.<\/p>\n<p>If you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get the difference, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s okay. \u00c2\u00a0You can probably stick with me for the rest anyway. With one more note: you can be both a nerd and a geek. I hope it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s obvious by reading those definitions that neither excludes the other. And, yes, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m quite pleased to have worn both labels. And, no, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not interested in arguing with you if you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t agree with how the labels are defined. You just rock the ones that you believe apply to you and know that nothing I write is meant to take away from that.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/gknrd1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-403\" src=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/gknrd1.jpg\" alt=\"Amber Benson declares herself a geek\" width=\"500\" height=\"235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/gknrd1.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/gknrd1-300x141.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>When I was a smart kid at school, it was clear that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153nerd\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was a pejorative to most people. It seems like, even today, this is one anyone but nerds kind of thinks isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a compliment. And even the nerds know this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t usually meant as a compliment. But, to my mind, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153nerd\u00e2\u20ac\u009d means smart and focused on topics that have improved and can continue to improve our place as humans. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m pretty sure that most scientists will agree that they are nerds. Especially when they see that I deliver that label with a loving smile. As some examples&#8230; I happily pin that label on the me who devoured mathematics (I asked for extra puzzles to take home and do for fun) or every book in the library on mythology or who fell in love with coding at the tender age of 8.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/gknrd2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-399\" src=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/gknrd2.jpg\" alt=\"John Green talking about the awesomeness of being a nerd\" width=\"500\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/gknrd2.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/gknrd2-250x300.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Geeks, on the other hand, have seen their reputations improve over the last few years. Now, technically, that has had as much to do with nerds as with geeks (if you buy into the same definitions that I do). We became a more tech-oriented society, with even grandparents online and even the boys from school who hassled me for being a geek playing video games. In fact, it is so clearly the age of the geek that the term has ceased to be used only in nerdy geek circles. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just scifi lovers or computer programmers calling themselves geeks; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also now being used in phrases like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sports geek\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153cooking geek\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153any other sort of thing you might love a wholewholewhole lot geek.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Whilst I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve worked on not having Too Much Stuff and, therefore, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have an impressive memento collection, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got the love for quite a list of things, most of which fall into the scifi realms. Remember that year I re-watched <em>all<\/em> of Star Trek in what would have been chronological order in that universe? Oh, or the year I re-watched <em>all<\/em> 50 years of Doctor Who <em>and<\/em> its spinoffs (yes, even all of the K9 spinoff&#8230;that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s love&#8230;). Or the days given regularly to Star Wars or Lord of the Rings marathons? Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122know, just as an example&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/gknrd3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-401\" src=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/gknrd3.jpg\" alt=\"Olivia Munn explains how widely we now use &quot;geek&quot;\" width=\"500\" height=\"235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/gknrd3.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/gknrd3-300x141.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>But, all that said, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not going to fuss too much if you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know the difference, because even geeks and nerds don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t use those terms in the ways I might. And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not at all worried. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just two different ways of saying that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s stuff I love. And I refused to be ashamed of loving things (or of being smart, which is usually rolled in with the nerd bit).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/gknrd4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-402\" src=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/gknrd4.jpg\" alt=\"Simon Pegg talks about the joy of being a geek\" width=\"380\" height=\"426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/gknrd4.jpg 380w, https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/gknrd4-268x300.jpg 268w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Instead of fighting about definitions, tell me the stuff for which you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a geek or a nerd! Because why focus on the hate when we can wallow in the love? Yay!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/na\/na-gknrd.php\">Cross-posted<\/a> to the Not Ashamed section of my site (so that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all tidy).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you haven&#8217;t already, please read the introduction post. That will give you context for this page. This is a topic that merited two places on the list, but is probably best handled in one post. To start with, some of you would probably like some definitions. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s start with a comic from the geeky and nerdy, depending on the day, xkcd. What those of you unfamiliar with the comic ought to know is that the alt text (when you mouseover a picture, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the text that might pop up and is traditionally used as a way to describe the graphic to those with visual limitations) is often part of the punchline. Which is why I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be noting the punchline (the alt text) for you. Alt Text: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The definitions I grew up with were that a geek is someone unusually into something (so you could have computer geeks, baseball geeks, theater geeks, etc) and nerds are (often awkward) science, math, or computer geeks. But definitions vary.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like something with more maths or even just more words, this blog post might make you happy. It begins offering these definitions: In my mind, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153geek\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153nerd\u00e2\u20ac\u009d are related, but capture [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-not-ashamed"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Not Ashamed: Geek and Nerd - Amber Bird | Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/26\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Not Ashamed: Geek and Nerd - Amber Bird | Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you haven&#8217;t already, please read the introduction post. That will give you context for this page. This is a topic that merited two places on the list, but is probably best handled in one post. To start with, some of you would probably like some definitions. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s start with a comic from the geeky and nerdy, depending on the day, xkcd. What those of you unfamiliar with the comic ought to know is that the alt text (when you mouseover a picture, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the text that might pop up and is traditionally used as a way to describe the graphic to those with visual limitations) is often part of the punchline. Which is why I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be noting the punchline (the alt text) for you. Alt Text: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The definitions I grew up with were that a geek is someone unusually into something (so you could have computer geeks, baseball geeks, theater geeks, etc) and nerds are (often awkward) science, math, or computer geeks. But definitions vary.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like something with more maths or even just more words, this blog post might make you happy. It begins offering these definitions: In my mind, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153geek\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153nerd\u00e2\u20ac\u009d are related, but capture [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/26\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Amber Bird | Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmberBirdOfficial\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmberBirdOfficial\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-04-26T21:31:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-05-18T01:29:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/imgs.xkcd.com\/comics\/geeks_and_nerds.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"amber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@varnishcentral\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@varnishcentral\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"amber\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.amberbird.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/26\\\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.amberbird.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/26\\\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"amber\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.amberbird.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9cda509e2d397ea9b1d9bf39ef88b58f\"},\"headline\":\"Not Ashamed: Geek and Nerd\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-04-26T21:31:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-05-18T01:29:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.amberbird.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/26\\\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1106,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.amberbird.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9cda509e2d397ea9b1d9bf39ef88b58f\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.amberbird.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/26\\\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/imgs.xkcd.com\\\/comics\\\/geeks_and_nerds.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"not ashamed\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.amberbird.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/26\\\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.amberbird.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/26\\\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.amberbird.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/26\\\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\\\/\",\"name\":\"Not Ashamed: Geek and Nerd - 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Amber Bird | Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/26\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Not Ashamed: Geek and Nerd - Amber Bird | Blog","og_description":"If you haven&#8217;t already, please read the introduction post. That will give you context for this page. This is a topic that merited two places on the list, but is probably best handled in one post. To start with, some of you would probably like some definitions. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s start with a comic from the geeky and nerdy, depending on the day, xkcd. What those of you unfamiliar with the comic ought to know is that the alt text (when you mouseover a picture, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the text that might pop up and is traditionally used as a way to describe the graphic to those with visual limitations) is often part of the punchline. Which is why I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be noting the punchline (the alt text) for you. Alt Text: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The definitions I grew up with were that a geek is someone unusually into something (so you could have computer geeks, baseball geeks, theater geeks, etc) and nerds are (often awkward) science, math, or computer geeks. But definitions vary.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like something with more maths or even just more words, this blog post might make you happy. It begins offering these definitions: In my mind, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153geek\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153nerd\u00e2\u20ac\u009d are related, but capture [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/26\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\/","og_site_name":"Amber Bird | Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmberBirdOfficial\/","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmberBirdOfficial\/","article_published_time":"2015-04-26T21:31:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-05-18T01:29:57+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/imgs.xkcd.com\/comics\/geeks_and_nerds.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"amber","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@varnishcentral","twitter_site":"@varnishcentral","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"amber","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/26\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/26\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\/"},"author":{"name":"amber","@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9cda509e2d397ea9b1d9bf39ef88b58f"},"headline":"Not Ashamed: Geek and Nerd","datePublished":"2015-04-26T21:31:54+00:00","dateModified":"2016-05-18T01:29:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/26\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\/"},"wordCount":1106,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9cda509e2d397ea9b1d9bf39ef88b58f"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/26\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/imgs.xkcd.com\/comics\/geeks_and_nerds.png","articleSection":["not ashamed"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/26\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/26\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\/","url":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/26\/not-ashamed-geek-and-nerd\/","name":"Not Ashamed: Geek and Nerd - 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