Comments on: Geek vs. Nerd vs. Dork: What’s the Difference?

By: Jamey

Jamey — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:59:00 +0000

More props for Andrew – definitely spot on.

By: GTT

GTT — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:35:00 +0000

Andrew: you managed to nail the definitions on the head.

@ Amanda H: I couldnt agree with you more.

By: Pete

Pete — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:58:18 +0000

So where does a neo-maxi-zoom-dweebie fit?

(I was actually an athlete. Sorry.)

By: Amanda H.

Amanda H. — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:25:05 +0000

Who are you kidding? The “cool kids” VS. “nerds-dorks-geeks” trope hasn’t been relevant for years. Nerd, dork, or geek are just names people proudly give to themselves to imply some sort of intellectual cache. Nerds ARE the cool kids now. It’s tiring.

By: NicoNico

NicoNico — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:08:13 +0000

I had a debate about two weeks ago with a friend of mine about this. I kept on calling him a dork, and he kept on countering that he wasn’t a penis. He even made me look up the definitions of all three. (Just to let you know, a Mac’s built in dictionary has the derivatives mentioned in the article. It seems, however, they also define nerds as also being socially inept.)

By: Cardinal_Fang

Cardinal_Fang — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:02:25 +0000

Up here (Western Canada) nerds were the pop culture obsessed ones while a geek was someone who was specifically into computers. The terms evolved over the years and they have amalgamated into basically one meaning now.
Dork has retained its original meaning, being the socially awkward one, much like a goof (interesting side note, I don’t know if this is a regional thing but calling someone a “goof” in the prisons here is the worst, most derogatory thing you could call someone. I have no idea why).

Squid was a very popular put down when I was growing up.

By: Fruppi

Fruppi — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:17:32 +0000

I’ve been working off Andrew’s definition…but never been very picky about the distinctions between nerd and geek. Dork is something else entirely…that’s the very awkward one.

My husband, however, is very picky about the distinction and swears that he is not a gaming nerd, but a gaming geek.

By: christie

christie — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:23:39 +0000

Ahh…terms of endearment, indeed.

By: Aemi

Aemi — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:41:37 +0000

Hm, by those definitions I’m a geek and a nerd, but not a dork. I hereby proclaim myself a nerk.
[Captcha: Hendrik Film?]

By: Aaron

Aaron — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:55:20 +0000

I agree with Andrew’s definitions. “Nerd” signifies intelligence. “Geek” signifies an obsession with a certain hobby/pop culture theme such as video-gaming, comic books, sci-fi, fantasy, etc. A “Dork” is clumsy and awkward (socially and physically).