Is There Really a Difference Between Geeks and Nerds?

Written by Shae Rufe

Is there really a difference between geeks and nerds? Some say yes, I say no! How can there be? After all, aren't the two names interchangeable? One would think. Yet, to this day, there seems to be this debate on which is which and what means what. While I'm hardly ever one to fact check, I will share with you my opinion on both names.

Now, growing up there wasn't really a distinction between the two names. Both meant you didn't fit in with the popular crowed, and you were shunned by the majority of your peers. Believe me, I wasn't winning any popularity contests, and it was all because I loved things like Pokémon, Sailor Moon, and Gundam. There is, oddly, such a thing as being an anime nerd. So, what's the difference between nerds and geeks? When you boil it down, nothing. We're passionate about things main stream society doesn't care for. And we show that love in any way we can. If we're to get technical, I suppose that nerds are more science based. But, wait, don't we have science geeks too?

Of course we do! I'm one of them, I'm just really not good at it. The term nerd is defined, roughly, as someone who is highly intellectual. So, I guess if you got really good grades at things and are super smart, that makes you a nerd. While geek means someone, who is strange and doesn't fit in. Modern terminology has made the two synonyms, so either word fits either case. Is that true today? Some may argue yes, some may argue no. To me, nerds like science things, were really good at studying, and were good at math. Geeks, on the other hand, played trading card games on their lunch break and had romantic relationships with fictional characters. Yet, now, I see things differently. Not all nerds have chemistry sets in their basements and not all geeks have a Pokémon card collection. Though, really, if you never collected a Pokémon card, or caught a school lab on fire, are you really living? 

Thankfully, we now live in a world where it doesn't matter which category you claim to be a part of. While we can switch the names around, they both have the same meaning of basically ‘outcast’. Now, however, in 2017, that meaning has changed entirely. We're not the outcasts, we're the envy of all. Being into comics has become cool and accepted, even admired, while movies such as Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers rule the box offices and have non-nerd and geeks alike clamoring for more. There are so many science documentaries on TV now, I have to choose between them, and anime is so popular it gets its own time slots. Our definitions of what wasn't cool have now changed in such a way that it's almost unacceptable to not be into a fandom.

This movement is probably in part of us growing up and spreading our awesome. Even at conventions, the nerd and geek lines are so blurred that none of us know where we belong and we all just accept that. Greater debates are to be had amongst us, I suppose, like which is better, Star Trek or Star Wars, but there is no definition of Nerd or Geek amongst us. But there are some who solidly support the older definitions. With varied interests, if you ask me, you can be both, and either, and even neither! Whatever you claim to be, though, wear that label proudly. Because we're all just a bit different, and that just makes us more awesome.

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