Am I a Geek or a Nerd?
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Captain Sarcastic grinds his teeth in his sleep. A lot. His teeth have been ground down as a result. He wears a splint to help the situation. Soon after Sun was born, CS threw his splint into the microwave bag we used to sterilize the breast pump parts. He thought he’d give it a good steaming. He melted it. So he recently replaced it with a new one. The new one is hard plastic that snaps onto his top teeth. It makes him talk with a lisp.
Soooo, the other night he popped his splint in as we got into bed and began to read. I was reading about the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, he was reading comics. He turned to me and said something along the lines of, “How you doin’?” But it came out all spitty and slippery. I responded, “You are such a nerd.” And he corrected me, “No, I am a geek. Thas a dithwence.”
Yes, my husband prides himself on being a geek and on differentiating between a geek and a nerd. Differentiating, mind you, while lisping away as a result of his mouth splint. Picture Anthony Michael Hall with his headgear back in the 80s. That’s what I go to bed to every night.
He got lucky that night. I find his ability to make me laugh quite appealing. So what does that make me, a geek or a nerd?
It makes you a geek lover. And ewwwwww, TMI.
So, please share his explanation of the difference. I have a theory, but he sounds more sure of himself!
Moondance,
CS says that nerds read a lot of books but don’t DO as much action-wise whereas geeks are more hands-on. Geeks will dissect things to find out how they work. Sadly, when asking CS to explain this (and I won’t even discuss the improper words he used to describe each group), when I’d ask a question, like do geeks read, he’d answer, “Yes, we read.” This pride of his! Very irksome. Along with his clear disrespect for nerds (though he claims I am one). It’s some weird class-ism he’s got going on.
Though I DO love that my geek husband knows how to work all the electronics in the house. Hell, left to myself, I can’t even get the cover off of the new fangled digital thermostat.
Do tell your theory! I am all ears. Though apparently I won’t do much with the info once I learn it.
Hey girl,
My hubby makes a cleaner for dental appliances. http://www.retainerfresh.com.
Email me your address and I will send CS a sample. No more melting!
My theory was that nerds are academically minded people who lack social skills (your typical 1950s stereotype with the tape on his coke bottle eyeglasses), while geeks are nerds (usually with a science or math bent), who may or may not have the social skills, but they just don’t care about it, because they value it so highly, they don’t have time for those who do not share their enchantment with the subject matter.
So, a nerd is good in school, or at a nerdy job, but is not at ease socializing unless its with other nerds, but a geek would rather build a rocket in his garage (or write a law review article about a subtle point of arcane law) than attend the Justice for All Ball, even if he would have had a good time at the party.
I am usually a nerd, but sometimes I blossom into full geekdom!
Moondance, I will pass this on to my geek-husband. You make a very strong case. Unfortunately, I think it also seals the deal that you are, without question, a nerd. Alas, so am I.
[...] he looked at me with his red-dull eyes and asked, “Which age?” Of course, he had his splint in his mouth so I wasn’t sure what he asked and I got him to repeat it a couple of times. Finally, I [...]