Are 'geek' and 'nerd' now positive terms?

[Dos_Box]

I always thought so anyway!

 

Campaigners in Sweden are trying to force a dictionary to change its definition of "nerd". But after two decades of "reappropriation" has "nerd" - and its sister word "geek" - now completely lost its derogatory connotations?In the 1984 film Revenge of the Nerds the rousing final speech of one of the protagonists starts with the statement: "I'm a nerd."

Its plot may be cartoonish but the film reveals a certain cultural backdrop - to be a nerd was to be socially awkward, even socially inferior. Jocks, those who were good at sport, or other socially successful groups, usually ended up winning. To turn that on its head could form the basis for comedy.

Things have changed.

 

 

BBC News - Are 'geek' and 'nerd' now positive terms?

[plexer]

I'm a geek and proud!!!!

 

Ben

[mrbios]

Another geek and proud, though i must admit i tell my mates off if they call me a nerd instead of a geek. To me the two have very different meanings.

[SteveT]

A geek is just a nerd with social skills!!!

[SpuffMonkey]

A geek is just a nerd with social skills!!!

 

Nah - a geek is a nerd with computer skills!

[6Foot2]

In my experience the word 'Nerd' was used in a derogatory/abusive sense. Can't say that it bothered me that much though.

[bossman]

@all:

 

It's now defined as it's "Sheik to be a Geek!!" and it's "Not absurd to be a Nerd" which I thought was the case anyway....................you get a much better class of person if they are either one or the other in my opinion.

 

 

Better than being a "Towie" or "Made in Chelsea" or a "Chav" etc etc!!

 

I love being called a geek or a nerd!

[localzuk]

I think geek is much like 'queer' - it has been re-appropriated, however any word can have negative connotations if it is used in a negative manner.

 

I proudly call myself a geek.

[bossman]

I think geek is much like 'queer' - it has been re-appropriated, however any word can have negative connotations if it is used in a negative manner.

 

I proudly call myself a geek.

 

So you are therefore labelling yourself as "Queer!" hehe! ..........................................Only twisting your melons @localzuk,

 

Have a good weekend and remember I'm looking for unified storage for next to nowt if you getting shut of equipment

[localzuk]

So you are therefore labelling yourself as "Queer!" hehe! ..........................................Only twisting your melons @localzuk,

 

Trust you!

 

Have a good weekend and remember I'm looking for unified storage for next to nowt if you getting shut of equipment

 

Not getting rid of any storage here. Although I will say that Hyper-V + SMB3 + Server 2012 and Failover Clustering is AWESOME. And easy to set up.

Edited November 16, 2012 by localzuk

[LosOjos]

I call myself a geek but not a nerd.

 

My personal definitions of the two:

- a geek is one who knows their craft like the back of their hand, going out of their way to keep up with the latest developments and even enjoying it; to a geek, it's never just a job. They can appear socially awkward, although this trait often vanishes once conversation veers towards their chosen area(s) of geek-like knowledge.

- a nerd is one who claims to know their craft like the back of their hand, masquerading themselves as a geek and often scoffing at others lack of knowledge in their claimed area of expertise, but in reality they dread confronting a true geek who will reveal their severe lack of knowledge, proving that they are in fact simply socially awkward.

 

So yeah, geek is cool, nerd is not (IMO)

 

EDIT: note I do not mention IT at any point, I believe you can be a geek or nerd in practically any field you are interested in.

 

EDIT2: Also, I'm not implying you have to know everything to be a geek, you simply have to want to know everything. A geek is always happy to learn something knew!

Edited November 16, 2012 by LosOjos

[CyberNerd]

I've been a cyber nerd for a long time now. If it has now become cool then I'm changing my name.

[tmcd35]

So you are therefore labelling yourself as "Queer!" hehe! ..........................................Only twisting your melons @localzuk,

 

Ha Ha, My first though when a saw this thread...

 

A "Geek Pride" event. We can march through London in our Star Trek uniforms or Think Geek T-Shirts...

[Little-Miss]

You didnt use that word @localzuk!

 

I am a geek and proud!

Edited November 16, 2012 by Little-Miss

[localzuk]

You didnt use that work @localzuk!

 

I am a geek and proud!

 

Which word? Perjorative? Couldn't think of a way to include it.

[6Foot2]

Which word? Perjorative? Couldn't think of a way to include it.

 

Don't worry Wikipedia have done it for you:

 

Link: Geek - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The word geek is a slang term for odd or non-mainstream people, with different connotations ranging from "a computer expert or enthusiast" to "a person heavily interested in a hobby", with a general pejorative meaning of "a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp[ecially] one who is perceived to be overly intellectual".

Although often considered as a pejorative, the term is also often used self-referentially without malice or as a source of pride.

[GrumbleDook]

I've always used the following:

Nerd : A person who is obsessively knowledge about a subject or range of subjects

Geek : A nerd with social skills

 

Technically, it would mean that good teachers are also geeks ;-)

[pcstru]

I've always used the following:

 

Nerd : A person who is obsessively knowledge about a subject or range of subjects

Geek : A nerd with social skills

 

While claiming to be a Geek and not a nerd, I defined it to my wife as : A nerd will tell you everything about a particular model of train, including details of a particularly 'interesting' journey in 1938, what the weather was like, the actual serial number of the train and the scratch down the left hand side caused by a minor shunting accident in the basinstoke yards the year before when Mr Tim Sandman was the driver, but was distracted by a Pacific coming off the wrong turntable exit blah blah blah ... A geek will just build you a full sized replica of the train.

 

She pointed out that drawing a distinction was Nerdy.

[plexer]

I've always used the following:

 

 

Technically, it would mean that good teachers are also geeks ;-)

 

GET OUT!!!!!!!!

 

 

lol

 

Ben

[witch]

@all:

 

It's now defined as it's "Sheik to be a Geek!!"

@bossman I think you mean "Chic to be a Geek" MLNM - some of us geeks can spell!

I am happy to be a geek but not a nerd

[john]

Ha Ha, My first though when a saw this thread...

 

A "Geek Pride" event. We can march through London in our Star Trek uniforms or Think Geek T-Shirts...

 

We have one of them, its called BETT where we all en-mass march down streets in our geek wear and take over restaurants with enthusiastic Italian owners

[bossman]

@bossman I think you mean "Chic to be a Geek" MLNM - some of us geeks can spell!

I am happy to be a geek but not a nerd

 

No I meant what I said as "Chic" doesn't ryme as well as "Sheik" and I would rather be a wealthy "Sheik" than something that is otherwise a misspelling or mispronunciation in real terms.

 

I wouldn't claim to be as pedantic as some people because they may feel they are better educated or even superior to others.................like teachers!

[witch]

No I meant what I said as "Chic" doesn't rhyme as well as "Sheik"

 

Yeah, it does, sweetie - it is pronounced "Sheek" not "Chick"

I'm a pedantic geek and proud of it!!

[dhicks]

I believe you can be a geek or nerd in practically any field you are interested in.

 

The best example of which I've ever come accross had to be someone who, as an Aikido uchi-deshi (live-in, full-time martial arts student) described themselves as an "Aikido geek".

[6Foot2]

Leonard Hofstadter just declared himself 'The King of Nerds' [The Big Bang Theory: E4: 18:30 - 19:00]