Wacky Poll Nr. 46: are you a "nerd"?

[gaius]

"(...) a Nerkle, a Nerd, and a Seersucker too (...)"

For some, "nerd" is a title of honor; for others, it's a word reserved for a particular brand of smelly and socially dysfunctional "douchebags". And then there are those who refuse to fit in with any predetermined category. So, withholding any judgement: do you, or do you not, consider yourself a "nerd"?

Of course, your comments and funny stories about go-playing nerds shall be much appreciated!

[RazorBrain]

I prefer the term geek

I think one key to happiness is learning to not take oneself too seriously. Let's face it . . . if most go players were to sit down in a group of 'average' people (men or women) and begin trying to explain the game and doing so with the enthusiasm we possess for go, what word would come tot he mind of group?

Yep, NERD!

Happy Friday!

[Solomon]

People should be cautious to consider themselves a nerd:

And by linking to an obligatory xkcd comic, I think that gives away my answer.

[Li Kao]

That's one of my favorite XKCDs since it describes me so well.
But I too prefer the word geek. I associate nerd too much with WoW.

[Suji]

For me the term Geek implies that you have out of date glasses, you are non-athletic, and you are scrawny.

I am the opposite of all three . Nerds Unite, ftw.

[TMark]

Surely it would have been more appropriate for this to have been poll 42?

Best wishes.

[Suji]

Surely it would have been more appropriate for this to have been poll 42?

Best wishes.

Yes!!

[Kirby]

No. I am not a nerd. It's as simple as that. Anybody that disagrees with me can challenge me to a light saber dual, and I will show him who the real jedi is.

[Jordus]

Surely it would have been more appropriate for this to have been poll 42?

Best wishes.

+ 10 points for the reference

[Chew Terr]

No. I am not a nerd. It's as simple as that. Anybody that disagrees with me can challenge me to a light saber dual, and I will show him who the real jedi is.

... "duel". So yes, I am.

[Kirby]

No. I am not a nerd. It's as simple as that. Anybody that disagrees with me can challenge me to a light saber dual, and I will show him who the real jedi is.

... "duel". So yes, I am.

Haha, ouch! Burned (me, that is)!

[SinK]

For me the term Geek implies that you have out of date glasses, you are non-athletic, and you are scrawny.

I am the opposite of all three . Nerds Unite, ftw.

It's the other way around to my mind. A geek has a long term obsession for something that goes beyond pure enjoyment,almost everyone here is a go geek but you can have philosophy geeks or coffee geeks or David Lynch geeks. A nerd has the same but for academic work and carries an implied level of social disfunction to go with it. Nerd, to me, conjures up an image of the spectacled, basement dwelling weed you describe while almost every male I know (this kind of obsession seems less common in women) has something they geek out about (doubly true if you allow for the idea of a football geek, or soccer geek to those of you living in non-english speaking countries like America.)

[MountainGo]

This show shaped my conception of the word geek.

[Suji]

For me the term Geek implies that you have out of date glasses, you are non-athletic, and you are scrawny.

I am the opposite of all three . Nerds Unite, ftw.

It's the other way around to my mind. A geek has a long term obsession for something that goes beyond pure enjoyment,almost everyone here is a go geek but you can have philosophy geeks or coffee geeks or David Lynch geeks. A nerd has the same but for academic work and carries an implied level of social disfunction to go with it. Nerd, to me, conjures up an image of the spectacled, basement dwelling weed you describe while almost every male I know (this kind of obsession seems less common in women) has something they geek out about (doubly true if you allow for the idea of a football geek, or soccer geek to those of you living in non-english speaking countries like America.)

I had the terms nerd, geek, and dork explained to me once.

Nerd: Someone who knows everything about everything.
Geek: Someone who knows everything about a single subject.
Dork: Someone who is socially inept.

So, there is at least some truth to what you're saying.

Also, I assume since I live in America (USA) that I don't speak English, I speak American?
Another point, is it only the USA who says soccer? I thought that the rest of the world called it football.

[SinK]

Nerd: Someone who knows everything about everything.
Geek: Someone who knows everything about a single subject.
Dork: Someone who is socially inept.

This is what I was getting at in a slightly less succinct way.

Also, I assume since I live in America (USA) that I don't speak English, I speak American?

From the ages of 6-8 I went to an American school and would regularly have to explain to the teachers how words were said (route (r-oo-t) is not pronounced the same as rout (R-ow-t)) ever since then it's been a sort of personal joke that American's just don't understand English the absurdity of which is doubled by the fact that since I moved back to England and found that I can understand English spoken with a heavy foreign accent from pretty much anywhere on the planet better than I can understand someone speaking regular everyday English in a Newcastle accent.