I don't know half of you half as well as I should like;
and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.
Due to Steph's comment on my last post I decided it was about time to put this issue to rest, once and for all. I will quote her comment so that you don't all have to go sifting through dozens of comments to get to it. And I quote:
"Tom, if you were a true nerd, you would be able to spell and punctuate. You are a computer geek, not a nerd; let's not get our terms confused here."
I'm not entirely sure what prompted this, I may have misspelled something in my previous entry, I don't know, and she didn't say, but I do think we shall take the time to, "not get our terms confused." I found many various definitions for nerd in my pursuits and I will not share them all here, and no doubt someone will quote one of the other ones in defense of their side of the situation and that is okay, however I will hold to what I have found since words have multiple meanings.
Simply put a nerd is someone who is smart. "Pejorative applied to anyone with an above-average IQ" (Dictionary.com) It turns out though it is often used as a synonym for geek and therefore almost makes the whole discussion useless. I could heretofore go into a discussion about different forms of intelligence and how because someone does not have spelling skills this does not limit their intelligence in any way etc, but I think that this is an obvious thing and it isn't necessary. Anyone with much intelligence realizes that spelling is not a good measure of intelligence; therefore, I can still qualify as a nerd despite lack of spelling skills. As for the rest of my intelligence, if it exists, you can debate that all you like and I have no plans on either agreeing or disagreeing with you in either case.
Now for geek, simply put once again, a techy. "A person who is extremely interested and knowledgeable about computers, electronics, technology, and gadgets" (Dictionary.com) By the nature of this website and anything a person knows about me, including my future degree (BS in Computer Science) one would of course tend to throw me into the category of geek. This would be fine and would of course seem appropriate.
I also found another definition for nerd which actually followed closely to the one I mean when I say the word. Basically meaning, someone who excels at something, and/or someone who puts large amounts of effort into a particular field of study (in effect anyone who works harder than "average"). Therefore, someone can be any type of nerd. I often call people music nerds (of which I am one), or math nerds (prolly one of those too), and of course computer nerds - who are in fact also geeks.
The conclusion is, that one can most definitely be a nerd, but not be a geek, but it seems when one is a geek they are also therefore a nerd. So I am sorry Stephanie, but despite your dislike for my lack of spelling skills I am still a nerd - take it or leave it.
Tom, you are right. I have been accused of being a nerd, and ask anyone that I email regularily, I can't spell or punctuate to save my life. Of course, maybe I am not a nerd because I am rarely smart enough to use spell check. hmmm...
-Daniel
I've never met a Comings you can spell or punctuate. But since we're not commenting on Daniel's comment here ;-) I can only write here to offer my full support to your arguments.
signed,
a nerd-geek (who can also spell, as a freakish bonus)
Lolz.. a gerd then?
There are some other interesting definitions of a geek... such as a performer who would bite off the heads of live chickens and do other vulgar acts.
By Bob Jones University 'standards', you are a geek because you have a girlfriend. :-)
so.. i wouldnt be placed under geek or nerd..
.. sweet action!
Shanna
I could go through your previous entry and point out all the spelling/punctuation errors, but I shall refrain. Except to note that it is spelled "mind-boggling" . . . I'll leave it at that. I must remember that not everyone is a stickler freak like me.
ohhhh I'm sooooo sorry I added an 'e' and left off the hyphen...you know I'd be interested in seeing how nitpicky you are in your critique of my spelling.
And don't start with some sort of complaint about me using common terms such as "sortof" or other such words, you can complain about those all you want but its not like I'm writing essays here - if I were, you'd get better grammar anyway.
It seems terribly odd to me though that you find it such a big deal, but then again some people are freakish about such things. Sorry though, as we have seen it doesn't keep me from being a nerd, it just means that you are a spelling nerd...which is "kindof" odd.
I personally found Dan C's idea rather amusing... a gerd... =) ~EliasDavid
I came on your site to check out the new position of the comment box and it just doesn't seem right, so I put it back up in the upper left corner anyway. ;) Somehow I missed the update for this entry. You are most definitely a geek and a nerd, yet you are a nerd in multiple forms. So by these definitions I don't think that I can be labled a nerd at all, even if I do sit in the front row of classes... Anywho, keep that smile of your's. ;) ~Sugar igapocimm
yeah.. no update email for me either... thought it was just my spam filter being over zealous...
http://slashdot.org/articles/06/01/17/2011214.shtml
I had guessed that the updates went down, unfortunately it was from nothing on my end. Probably something server side - which of course means most of the readers have no clue that I've updated.
Odly enough I'm not getting e-mail updates of people commenting either.
where do u go to find download 24?
i agree with Steph, simply because she is Steph, and therefore correct over Tom. Besides, if you cannot spell or use grammar properly, you do not deserve the privilege of being called a nerd. There is no such thing as a computer nerd, it is and always has been a computer geek. The term "nerd" should be reserved for those who have higher intelligence levels in more than just technology.
no offense :)
None taken.
Although, as I said before higher intelligence is not measured in spelling and grammar and that in and of itself is common sense.
Furthermore my grammar is actually quite correct a high percentage of the time, as is my spelling, so even for someone, who by Steph's standards "can't spell," this does not disqualify me from the term nerd.
Incidentally in the dictionaries I checked nerd and geek were used as synonyms.
Here's something we nerds have to watch out for...
http://hardware.slashdot.org/hardware/06/01/18/1330244.shtml
And I suggest Azureus and http://mininova.org for all your downloading needs.
my friends and I were having a discussion over "what's cooler: geek or nerd?" the other day - it got quite heated, punctuated by lots of laughter...you're right, both terms can be interchangeable, but they also define seperate "groups". then again, you also have different definitions, depending on the culture in which you live. eventually, we decided that it's cooler to be a geek then a nerd - on the grounds that geeks are generally as intelligent as nerds, but they usually have more friends, and dress better :p
This just leaves the question..... what Is Napolian Dynamite then??? I don't think he fits into either of these categories..... at all...
Napoleon is a retard/dork.
Umm.. wow that last entry of mine was posted like 2 days ago and JUST found its way on here...
AND I just got the update... is someone's server time off?
I found Vote for David Palmer T's. But since he's dead I don't think I should get it. lol
We'll make contact about the package later.
until then be safe and be cool!
Yeah Dan, the reason yours didn't post is because it got marked as spam thanks to your link. So I had to approve it before it went on and I didn't notice it until today sometime. Usually I notice these things much earlier because I get e-mail updates of commenters - both spam and otherwise - however I believe the e-mail server was down on my site (not my fault btw) and therefore none of you got updates, and I didn't get comment updates.
It started back up this morning methinks. :-D
mmmm
Arthur C. Clarke - "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."