Are You a Geek or a Nerd?

"Are you a geek or a nerd?" It's an odd question. Is there any difference between the two? And if so, is it that much of a difference that it means completely different things, or can you use both geek and nerd to the same effect? The answer is as odd as the question.

            Looking back to the early nineteen-hundreds, the word geek had a much more infamous meaning than its contemporary counterpart. Strangely a geek in the early nineteen-hundreds was a carnival performer who's performance consisted of biting the heads off of live animals, mainly chickens. Nowadays, being called a geek leaves a slightly less disgusting taste in our mouths. If you look in any dictionary you will find the definition of the word geek with something along the lines of "socially awkward," or "unpopular." These definitions couldn't be farther than the truth, and it's the other definitions that are much closer to the truth; "interested in and knowledgeable in a certain field," "an enthusiast or expert in a field or activity." These are the definitions that should be focused on when someone is called a geek.

            But what about nerds? For some the candy with the same name will pop into their head, or for others you may picture someone with black-rimmed classes with a pocket protector. Luckily the history and origin of the word nerd is less graphic of an event than geek was, and it came about much later, nearly fifty years. The first known use was a creature from a children's book titled, If I Ran the Zoo, by Theodor Geisel. You may know him by his alias, Dr. Seuss. Amazingly, one of the most used negative labels in society may have been created by one of the least negative people in the history of literature. And what of the contemporary definition of the word nerd? "A person who behaves awkwardly around other people and usually has unstylish clothes, hair, etc." That is a direct quote from merriam-webster.com's definition of a nerd. Much like geek's definition however, a nerd is also interested in a technical field or activity.

            The only difference between being called a geek or nerd is how and why you are calling someone those two things. Are you calling them a nerd because they understand computers to a mind melting degree, or are you calling them that because they don't have perfect hair? How about calling someone a geek? Are they passionate about something, or are they shy and thus you assume they are socially awkward? Labels don't have to mean negative things; we choose to make them mean negative things.