NationStates Jolt Archive

The nerd quiz thred got me thinking..........what kind of nerd/geek are you?

for the purposes of this thred

to be a nerd you have to have above average knowledge or talent in an subject.

to be a geek you have to have above average obsession or knowlege of something that the mainstream has deemed "not mainstream"

to be a dork you have to be socially awkward and clumsy

you can be all three or any combo of them

I am a geek and a nerd (actually both many times over)

and now I am also a dork for quoting myself. ;)

So, what type of geek are you? What type of nerd are you?

I do geeky things, but am not a "geek" about it, meaning I am not obsessed, for example, yeah, I play D&D but not like every weekend (like a friend of mine does)

I am geeky about Star Trek, meaning I go to con, in uniform, learned Klingon, ect.

I am a mini-computer nerd, most of my computer knowledge though has been aquired in the last 10 years, and my programing sucks a big one (although Visual Basic is making it tons easier now that I am learning that)

I am a tax-nerd, but I get paid to be.


so anyway me?

Geek List

Star Trek
movies
Star Wars (big contradiction?!)
comic books (esp. Marvel)


Nerd List

US Tax code
Math
History


yeah, not much of a nerd despite my score (which is the highest on the thred so far)

2% scored higher (more nerdy), and
98% scored lower (less nerdy).

What does this mean? Your nerdiness is:

All hail the monstrous nerd. You are by far the SUPREME NERD GOD

so, are you a nerd a geek or a dork? what makes you one? (or more than one)

answer the poll if you must, but please elaborate. Esp. on the nerdy parts, I may need them in the future.

Well, geek by the lists you posted, Smunkee, but I swear, I have never bitten the head off a snake of a chicken, alive or dead!

Well, geek by the lists you posted, Smunkee, but I swear, I have never bitten the head off a snake of a chicken, alive or dead!
for the purposes of this thred, chicken biting is not a requirement for geekage.

WB Smunkee I hope you are feeling better :)

I am all and none of the above in different ways. I am probably a dork more than anything though.

for the purposes of this thred, chicken biting is not a requirement for geekage.
Whew!

WB Smunkee I hope you are feeling better :)
I am, but I am stuck in bed until tomorrow night, at least I wasn't sleeping all day today.....btw, daytime TV sucks.

I am all and none of the above in different ways. I am probably a dork more than anything though.
elaborate?

What about the term boffin?

I am, but I am stuck in bed until tomorrow night, at least I wasn't sleeping all day today.....btw, daytime TV sucks.

Glad to hear it and that doesnt sound so bad


elaborate?

nope :D

What about the term boffin?
well, call me an ignorant American, but what the hell is a boffin?

is it a noun? verb? adjective? what's it mean?!

well, call me an ignorant American, but what the hell is a boffin?

is it a noun? verb? adjective? what's it mean?!

I think a boffin is a geeky nerd.

Well growing up, I was definitely in the geek camp. Life happens, and a lot of my geeky hobbies are left unattended to, but they're still near and dear to my heart. I'm slightly nerdy, and have dorky moments, but I definitely fly the geek flag.

Geek List


Dungeons and Dragons (Made my own campaign worlds, complete with maps, history, etc. Played almost every weekend at one time. Haven't really played in several years.)
Strategy Board Games; i.e. Axis and Allies, Risk, Shogun, Supremacy, Battlemasters, and numerous Avalon Hill games with little cardboard counters.
Magic the Gathering: Spent scads, and scads of cash on that game. Still have about 15 decks put together. Haven't played in a couple of years.
Comics: Used to collect X-men, Ghost-Rider and just about every Image title for about the first 4 months of it's existence. Then promptly stopped buying comics.


I would have got into Warhammer and other Miniature gaming, but never had the patience to paint all of those miniatures.

My Nerd and Dork lists aren't really lists. I'm slightly Rome obsessed, and I'm a bit of an anti-social, so nothing worth listing.

I think a boffin is a geeky nerd.
I looked it up, I found out this

boffin n. A boffin is someone who is particularly knowledgeable about his/her subject. Slightly less friendly than expert, calling someone a boffin suggests (much like nerd) that they have body odour and are virgins. Boffins are invariably male.

which is basically the same as a nerd, only in America we are equal opportunity and girls can be nerds too, also we have taken out the requirement of body odor and virginity. (we gave those to the dorks.)

source!! (http://english2american.com/dictionary/b.html)

You forgot about Drama Geeks! I'm never speaking to you again! Nobody understands me...

You forgot about Drama Geeks! I'm never speaking to you again! Nobody understands me...
how did I forget Drama Geeks? I ask "what kind of geek are you?" it's up to you to tell me what kind of geek you are.........

how did I forget Drama Geeks? I ask "what kind of geek are you?" it's up to you to tell me what kind of geek you are.........

If I were speaking to you, I would tell you. Of course, if you can't already tell, I pity you. Common mortals...

If I were speaking to you, I would tell you. Of course, if you can't already tell, I pity you. Common mortals...
well, if I were speaking to you, I would tell you the awesome Ruffy gossip.....but I am not so I won't, and you will just have to wonderhttp://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:S89gDVTRfHkAaM:http://www.uco.es/~i72sagir/smiley_guy_sticking_out_tongue_lg_clr.gif

(oh, and don't bother asking Ruffy, he doesn't know)

You know, I was all three in highschool

Really ALL THREE, in horrendous levels. The "dork" thing (which is to say, lacking in social skills and the like) started to fade when I'm in college.

So now I just look at the person I was and laugh a bit at what should be emotionally scarring memories.
And I was HORRIBLE, total social disaster. Dressed horribly, couldn't talk to a girl to save my damned life, utter social outcast. I'm not, anymore. Far from it in fact.

I was actually recently talking to a grad school friend of mine about this, and he laughed and said he couldn't picture a social butterfly like me being a total social reject, but it was true.

Then he asked me if, looking back to highschool, would I change it, and would I still be the person I was, or one of the popular jockish types. Without a moment's hesistation I said I would have been exactly who I was, if given only those two options.

Why? well, to paraphrase ron white a bit..

You can learn to be social. You can watch, you can observe, you can emulate. You can learn to be sophisticated. You can learn to be charming. You can learn to be suave. You can learn to be "cool". You can get around your social anxiety. You can learn to talk to women. You can even learn (as much as my 16 year old self wouldn't believe it) to get laid.

In short, a socially akward intellectual can, if he/she is willing to put the true time, effort, and energy into it, learn to be a sophisticated and socially accepted intellectual.

But you can't fix stupid.

Geek List

Star Wars (Oh yeah, baby. Tons of literature and of course, the classic toy line in abundance consisting of three big boxes of figures, plus vehicles and model kits)
Star Trek (Oh yeah, baby. Tons of literature and many, many toys including model kits)
movies and tv series (all different kind of genres)
comics (DC, Marvel, Darkhorse, etc. - ran out of money to keep that hobby up but I still have two big boxes of'em at home)
Warhammer 40,000 (Collecting Space Wolves, some Imperial Guard, some Orks, some Nurgle Death Guard Plague Marines, some Tyranids, some Necromunda Orlocks; I even own some Warhammer knights; but I especially enjoy reading all 40K Black Library publications, only missed one or two series which are still on my 'to read'-list. I have only played four games total, lack of painting time, but especially lack of talent as commander)
Model ships (All in 1:720 - I could probably field the entire U.S. Navy aircraft carriers if I ever find the time and space to build them, plus German and English warships. But they have to be 1:720 scale).
Computer games (I dunno, like 200+ games total? But I have to admit that I only really like the classics. The new stuff won't run on my compy)
Self occupation with senseless time-wasting (reading books, watching TV, and being in front of the PC - sometimes everything at once; usually absorbing all different kinds of things)
Dinosaurs (as a kid, I could name every known dinosaur in an instant, including height, weight, etc. - now they have changed many names and discovered way more new ones than I am willing to absorb, so meh. Favorite one still is the good ol' Triceratops)

Nerd List

Biology (and other sciences, except for physics which I never got! I'm simply amazed and really interested in pretty much everything biological you can throw at me)
English (well, sort of - but apparently nerdy enough for my surroundings; sometimes referred to as "the walking dictionary" by others)
History (sound overall view I believe and details where needed - but that's more of a hobby than a career so it's different from English and biology; but I have considered archaeology for a long time)
Computers (why do people always call on me?!? But I somehow stopped updating my knowledge database concerning hardware about 5 years ago; still manage to help most people who ask)
Music (up to a certain degree, almost every and any genre - but heavy metal is preferred)

Answer the poll if you must, but please elaborate. Esp. on the nerdy parts, I may need them in the future.
Wha? Why would you need them in the future?!? What for?

Oh noes - I just read through the whole list and it seems that I'm more of a geeky nerd than my test result would hint to. Now, I honestly don't know if that's a good thing. Still believe it is, though - it's what makes up part of me, so it can't really be all that bad :D

I'm a dag.

geek
Movies
Lord of the Rings
'Hard' Sci Fi
Old English Literature
Homebrewing of fine beers and ales (hell yeah motherfucker!)


nerd
History
Law
Politics
Foreign Languages
Double major/double minor and graduating two quarters early without feeling academic strain.
Russians

to be a geek you have to have above average obsession or knowlege of something that the mainstream has deemed "not mainstream"

I think that makes me a geek. I have an above average obsession with punk (ie, I like it) and Taxi Driver, two things which are not considered mainstream.

These definitions are bullshit.

I am somewhat nerdy. 56% of the test takers scored lower than me. I am proud to be a somewhat-nerd.

Sadly, I am all three, but I don't do any of them well.

This reminds me, are we ever going to finish our "Which NSer Are You" quiz?

and the ablity of a Geek to pull out a D20 out of any of their pockets

I am a speech geek and a band geek. Also a NS geek although i suspect that's assumed in advance. I play trombone, and I am the most involved debater in my school. (200+ people). I am not a dork although I'm a nerd in that I know a fair amount of whatever it is we're being taught. I have above average knowledge in all school-based (Sciences, math, health, english, etc.) subjects and of politics.

Nerd List
Chemistry
History
Science in general
Latin (the stuff I need in class)
Grammar (sometimes)
Whatever we happen to be studying at the time in any given class
Geek List
Phantom of the Opera
Star Wars
Invader Zim
Latin (in that I translate Phantom of the Opera into Latin...for fun)

I also may be a bit of a dork, but I'm not sure. I get nauseous when I'm around people and so I tend to avoid them if possible. If I ever become rich enough, I would love to live in a huge house with only my two cats, a private laboratory, and a private library and computer room to keep my company. That would be awesome:)

Perhaps I'm not a dork, but a recluse? I'm not sure.

Well, If I were to go by your definitions, I would be a Geeky Dork :p (but not a Dorky Geek)

I am no nerd:cool: ..I do enjoy world events but not star trek or pocket protectors....Though dungons and dragons is a fun game that can go forever............................................................................................. ...........................,ect

I think that makes me a geek. I have an above average obsession with punk (ie, I like it) and Taxi Driver, two things which are not considered mainstream.
I like punk too, I am not obsessed with it, there are many people that like Star Trek but don't go to conventions, there is a line, don't mistake that.

These definitions are bullshit.
my thred, my definitions, you think you could do better?

and the ablity of a Geek to pull out a D20 out of any of their pockets
Why does this one scene from Futurama come to my mind when I just read that?!?

Gary Gygax: "Greetings! It's a..." *rolls dice* "...pleasure to meet you!"
http://www.gotfuturama.com/Multimedia/EpisodeSounds/2ACV16/16.mp3

The real answer to what kind of geek I am:

GH/G d--(+) s:+ a C++ U P-- L E- W++ N o+ K w O M-- PS+++ PE++ Y+ PGP- t+ 5 X R+++ tv+ b++++ DI++ D--- G++ e++ h+ r y+

Nerd List:
English
Geography
Science
History
Militaria
Film
Music

Geek List:
RPGs (real RPGs, not the jargon usurping computer adventure games)
Japanese popular and traditional culture
Plastic 1:35 Military Modeling/Diarama building (inactive)
Literary (as opposed to film or TV) SF, especially hard SF
Improv/Drama

I am also a reformed dork.

The real answer to what kind of geek I am:

GH/G d--(+) s:+ a C++ U P-- L E- W++ N o+ K w O M-- PS+++ PE++ Y+ PGP- t+ 5 X R+++ tv+ b++++ DI++ D--- G++ e++ h+ r y+

Nerd List:
English
Geography
Science
History
Militaria
Film
Music

Geek List:
RPGs (real RPGs, not the jargon usurping computer adventure games)
Japanese popular and traditional culture
Plastic 1:35 Military Modeling/Diarama building (inactive)
Literary (as opposed to film or TV) SF, especially hard SF
Improv/Drama

I am also a reformed dork.

The real answer to what kind of geek I am:

GH/G d--(+) s:+ a C++ U P-- L E- W++ N o+ K w O M-- PS+++ PE++ Y+ PGP- t+ 5 X R+++ tv+ b++++ DI++ D--- G++ e++ h+ r y+

Nerd List:
English
Geography
Science
History
Militaria
Film
Music

Geek List:
RPGs (real RPGs, not the jargon usurping computer adventure games)
Japanese popular and traditional culture
Plastic 1:35 Military Modeling/Diarama building (inactive)
Literary (as opposed to film or TV) SF, especially hard SF
Improv/Drama

I am also a reformed dork.

The real answer to what kind of geek I am:

GH/G d--(+) s:+ a C++ U P-- L E- W++ N o+ K w O M-- PS+++ PE++ Y+ PGP- t+ 5 X R+++ tv+ b++++ DI++ D--- G++ e++ h+ r y+

Nerd List:
English
Geography
Science
History
Militaria
Film
Music

Geek List:
RPGs (real RPGs, not the jargon usurping computer adventure games)
Japanese popular and traditional culture
Plastic 1:35 Military Modeling/Diarama building (inactive)
Literary (as opposed to film or TV) SF, especially hard SF
Improv/Drama

I am also a reformed dork.

I'm primarily a nerd, yay me! :p

But I have started to cultivate a few elements of geekiness, mostly posting on this forum :p

mmm... Fabric of the Cosmos... Good ol' quantum physics...
i'm working on the social awkward part. (ok I've been working at it for 5 years but shut up)

I am also a reformed dork.
No, you're a real dork for quadruple-posting your nerdy geek-list! ;)

I'm primarily a nerd, yay me! :p

But I have started to cultivate a few elements of geekiness, mostly posting on this forum :p
Care to elaborate on your nerdness?

Is there a quadruple post up there?

Geek List
Star Wars
Computer Games
Movies & TV
some anime series
some other stuff

I hate people I don't know, verbally box people I do & I can trip over air!

You can learn to be social. You can watch, you can observe, you can emulate. You can learn to be sophisticated. You can learn to be charming. You can learn to be suave. You can learn to be "cool". You can get around your social anxiety. You can learn to talk to women. You can even learn (as much as my 16 year old self wouldn't believe it) to get laid.

Hey kids, support conformism today
Being a sheep is no fun :(

An employed one?

Nerd List:
Spanish and Latinoamerican literature
History
Classical Music (I was a prodigy of the cello when I was young...Sadly it didn't last)
Painting, photography and Films
Spanish language
Puzzles and logical riddles (Yeah, those Sudoku books, ahem)
News and journalism (The only thing I get payed for, even today)
Drama, theaters, acting in general

Geek List:
RPGs (Back in the day, I used to play three times a week, I had a DM boyfriend. It also didn't last. I haven't played for years now, but I still read books and related things due to my still gaming brother)
Miniature painting (Again, back in the day, used to paint the warhammer miniatures of my lazy and artistically impeded boyfriend. Now, that was years ago)
Card playing (note the above parenthesis)
Anime (again, note the above)
Star Wars (Do I need to say it all again?)

To resume, I think I am a reformed geek. The system swallowed my anti-mainstream nature.

Dork List:
Well, I think never. I was quite a social person back then, due to my inability to remain quiet and silenced for more than five minutes. Now I must be a social person, I work in a radio station, work in a presidential campaign, write a column of interviews in a magazine...You must be social or die.

No, you're a real dork for quadruple-posting your nerdy geek-list! ;)


Nope. That's just Jolt showing up the old server. (I just love the new "invalid thread" trick. Even the old server didn't pull this crap.)

Nerd:
Biology*
Biology
Did I mention Biology?
Quantum Physics
History
English
Math
Statistics

* - (US Bio Olympiad semifinalist, winner of numerous competitions, straight A's in the subject - need I say more?)

Geek:
Babylon 5 fan
Stargate fan (even built a quasi-Puddle Jumper out of Legos)
Lego engineer
Star Wars fan
Fan of science fiction in general
Fairly knowledgable about computers (though not as knowledgable as some of my friends)
Computer gamer (and devoted member of my school's gaming club)
Card game player
Paranoia/Assassin/Mafia player

Dork:
No interest in "normal" subjects for conversation - if you want to talk to me, it helps to have some knowledge of geek subjects
No friends prior to entering current school (where nerds/geeks are the majority of the class)