Finally a Geek and Nerd Litmus Test
October 21, 2013
How do you define a geek and how do you define a nerd? The Daily Mail examines the best way to categorize each from a study by software engineer Burr Settles. You can read the details in “Are You A Geek Or A Nerd? Scientist Creates Graph That Explains The Difference.” Settles studied 2.6 million tweets that contained each description. He devised a mathematical equation to predict the probability of a particular word being described as a nerdy or a geeky one. He placed his findings on a traditional x and y coordinate graph for users to see where their coordinates lay.
“Commenting on his findings, Settles said: ‘In broad strokes, it seems to me that geeky words are more about stuff, while nerdy words are more about ideas. ‘Geeks are fans, and fans collect stuff; nerds are practitioners, and practitioners play with ideas. Of course, geeks can collect ideas and nerds play with stuff, too. Plus, they aren’t two distinct personalities as much as different aspects of personality.’ “
The results blur in the middle with some crossover with certain words, but there remains some items that are distinctly nerdy or geeky. Being a nerd or a geek comes off as a state of mind and while the popular convention may slant in one direction, it should be up to the individual to select what they would like to be called. Labels can be cumbersome, though. Still, Settles’ geekery and nerdiness shine through by his analytics search.
Whitney Grace, October 21, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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