Concept in Definition ABC
Miscellanea / / July 04, 2021
By Javier Navarro, on Feb. 2016
Geek and nerd are concepts typical of Anglo-Saxon culture that have been incorporated into global jargon in most languages, including Spanish. Both terms refer to a type of person with a high interest in the world of technology and the computing. The geek and the nerd are two labels that express a human archetype: someone obsessed with advanced devices and everyone around them. The geek and the nerd have some geeks and both are children of the technological age.
Similarities and differences between geeks and nerds
While they both share a general idea and context cultural common, there are some significant differences between one and the other.
- The geek is normally sociable and communicative, while the nerd is more introverted, we could say that weirder or geek.
- The geek is a good connoisseur of new technologies, but the nerd dominates the more theoretical aspect of technology and science. Thus, the nerd becomes a geek in an intellectual and somewhat pedantic version. The geek is integrated into society and the nerd has a more individualistic component.
- Their tastes may be similar, as they both have a technological "dependency". However, the nerd is someone else atypical and less conventional than the geek. For this reason, some claim that the nerd is an exaggerated geek.
- You can talk about a geek and nerdy culture, since both have similar hobbies: video games, apps, mobile phones, pets with technological names, the fantastic world and the same cultural icons (the figure of Steve Jobs or the passion for Star Wars could be two examples significant).
Some conclusions
When these terms began to be used they were used in a derogatory sense, although in recent years these labels are used without the original pejorative charge
In fact, there is "geek pride day", which is May 25 (in some countries it is known as "geek pride day").
The era of Internet it forms the coordinates of our globalized culture. A new order is being created, with new ideas and human archetypes. Geeks and nerds are not an urban tribe like hipsters or a fad but they express a attitude vital and a way of being.
The concepts of geek and nerd are already part of a new terminology that, in turn, must be understood as a movement intellectual.
Photos: iStock - ozgurdonmaz / RyanJLane
Topics in Geek and Nerd