A ‘nerd’ is generally defined as a social outcast. They are not necessarily smart though are quite intelligent. A nerd is generally characterized as someone who is intellectual, socially awkward, shy and obsessive. They are most often interested in activities that other would not be interested in, like role playing games, comic books and scientific fiction. Games are really popular amongst them. Tastes in movies is generally always sci-fi.
A ‘geek’ is someone who is strongly motivated for his work. They are eccentric or non-mainstream people. That’s what makes them special. They are much interested in neither …show more content…
Sheldon Cooper from the series 'The Big Bang Theory' is a geek.
Still not clear about the difference between the two terms? Read below to find out the three main points that set them apart.
1. Interests
Both a geek and a nerd are dedicated to their subjects and sometimes socially awkward. The main difference is that geeks are fans of their subjects while nerds are practitioner of them. A computer geek might read gadget related magazines while a computer nerd might read CLRS and keep an eye out for clever new ways of applying Dijkstra’s algorithm.
2. Communication Skills
They both may share similar outward traits but not necessarily. But when their approaches to life are compared, the differences become quite apparent. Nerds love using jargon while geeks use obscure references abundantly.
Geeks often take interest in the microscopic details of life, such as they may compare your current position to a news article or a novel. Nerds, on the other hand, are uninterested in the details of daily life. They focus more on the macroscopic details of