Geeks and Nerds

Just a random question that popped in my head while studying. Who uses these terms to mean different things and who uses them interchangeably? I usually use nerd to refer to very bookish and academic people and geeks to mean people who may like or are well-versed in things that aren't necessarily socially popular.

I don't know, I personally kinda use them interchangeably though I use geek more frequently. It's harder to label nowadays since many geeky/nerdy things are very popular and mainstream now.

yeah nerds r smart, geeks like comic books and stuff a nerd isn't always a geek and a geek isn't always a nerd :P

I believe that they are two different things, however, I pretty much just use the word "nerdy" to describe both things. As a side note, it does kind of irritate me that "geek chic" is a thing now. When I was in school I was picked on relentlessly but now being "nerdy" is popular. Not fair at all, I tells ya. BUT! It is a good thing that future nerds won't have to suffer as much.

Does it really matter? Can't you be a hybrid? Do you have to be one or the other?

Eh it's just a label after all. Dont have to be either or, but it seems like people like to be under a title to make themselves feel better. Almost like they have to pick something or else go crazy.

I thought the answer was obvious: a geek is someone with geeky hobbies or interests. A nerd is a geek whose hobbies and interests do not meet with your approval. XD All kidding aside, I think "geek" has been fairly well assimilated by mainstream pop culture into being a catch-all for people with particular flavors of hobby or obsessive-level interest in a hobby. It's often, but not always, associated with gaming in some way. The term "nerd", by contrast, has a specifically intellectual feel to it.

Oh noes. Not my feels. I am more or less a geek who can nerd out.

It doesn't really matter...I certainly consider myself to be both. Geek things have definitely been integrated more into society, but I do also wonder if geeks themselves have. A lot of people go out to see the comic book movies, wear T-shirts and stuff with the labels on it, but sometimes it's more a cool factor now. Maybe it's different for the younger population, but I always get the sense that geeks are being pushed out of their own domain.