'To Geek or not to Geek, that is the question'

Labels, people use them to identify themselves and make each other feel part of a group. Rockers, Goths, Chavs, Emo's etc etc. My so called freinds have decided 'we' are all geeks. I disagreed with this, they may be but I am most certainly not a geek, I may have been a bit geeky in my youth with obsessive interest in fantasy roleplaying games and was a sort of late starter as far as excessive binge drinking goes but I more than shed my geekiness over the years. Or so I think anyway.

Anyway to define a 'geek'

A geek is a person who is fascinated, perhaps obsessively, by obscure or very specific areas of knowledge and imagination, usually electronic or virtual in nature. Geek may not always have the same meaning as the term nerd.

As I don't display this behavior I do not classify as a geek, though admittedly most of my so called friends do. Even the definitions below don't really fit my personality as I am driven by money and passion, though mainly money at the minute. I am an avid observer of world events and don't withdraw from it just observe more than interact. I am only passionate about beer, music, football and women not always in that order.

It is commonly believed that the word "geek" originates with side-show "circus geeks" — performers at carnivals who swallow various live animals, live insects, and so forth. Sometimes this would extend to biting the heads off of chickens or other small livestock.
Many lexicographers source geek to an Americanism of Shakespeare's 16th century word, geck, originally of Middle Low German origin; meaning "fool" or "an object of scorn; a dupe"

The definition of geek has changed considerably over time, and there is no definite meaning. The social and rather derogatory connotations of the word make it particularly difficult to define. The difference between the terms "geek" and "nerd" are widely disputed, as the latter might be identified as someone who is unusually intelligent, and the former as someone who has an eccentric interest towards a certain category or topic. Below are some definitions of the word; all are still in use to varying degrees.

The definition most common among geeks themselves is: "one who is primarily motivated by passion", indicating somebody whose reasoning and decision making is always first and foremost based on his personal passions rather than things like financial reward or social acceptance. Geeks do not see the typical "geeky" interests as interesting, but as passionate devotions. The idea that the pursuit of personal passions should be the fundamental driving force to all decisions could be considered the most basic shared tenet among geeks of all varieties. Geeks consider such pursuits to be their own defining characteristic.

A person who is interested in technology, especially computing and new media. Comparable with the classic definition of hacker. (Late 20th century and early 21st century.)

A person who has chosen concentration rather than conformity; one who pursues skill (especially technical skill) and imagination, not mainstream social acceptance. Geeks usually have a strong case of neophilia (a love of novelty and new things). Most geeks are adept with computers and treat hacker as a term of respect, but not all are hackers themselves — and some who are in fact hackers normally call themselves geeks anyway, because they regard "hacker" as a label that should be bestowed by others rather than self-assumed.

A person with a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream. This could be due to the intensity, depth, or subject of their interest. This definition is very broad, and allows for mathematics geeks, aviation geeks, band geeks, computer geeks, science geeks (including, among others, physics, chemistry, and biology geeks, as well as social science include but not limited to economics), psychology and sociology), music geeks (audiophile), movie and film geeks (cinephile), comics geeks, theatre geeks, history geeks, gamer geeks, Latin geeks, linguistics geeks, SCA</A> geeks (SCAdians), <A title="Public transit" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_transit">public transit geeks (metrophiles),Doctor Who geeks, literature geeks, anime and manga geeks (otaku), Star Wars geeks, Star Trek geeks (Trekkies and Trekkers, the latter noted for costuming), Tolkien or fantasy geeks. (Late 20th century and early 21st century.)

G.E.E.K., as an acronym, reputedly came from the United States Military; it stands for General Electrical Engineering Knowledge. It is unclear if this was the origin of the current meaning for geek, or if the acronym was used as a humorous reference toward the pre-established meaning for geek (that is to say, a backronym).

A derogatory term for one with low social skills, regardless of intelligence. Similar to common use of the word dork. (Late 20th century.)
A performer at a carnival who swallows various live animals and bugs. See etymology above.

A person who rejects society, yet is involved in it — unlike and in contrast to a hermit. (This is generally used to also mean someone with high intelligence.)

Julie Smith of New Orleans Beat defines geek as: "a bright young man turned inward, poorly socialized, who felt so little kinship with his own planet that he routinely traveled to the ones invented by his favorite authors, who thought of that secret, dreamy place his computer took him to as cyberspace -- somewhere exciting, a place more real than his own life, a land he could conquer, not a drab teenager's room in his parents' house."[citation needed]

Well if I am not a geek am I a nerd?

Nerd, as a stereotypical or archetypal designation, refers to somebody who passionately pursues Video Games and intellectual interests at the expense of social traits such as Girls, some nerds refuse to go along to the most common known version of nerds. Most nerds envolve themselves in some kind of athletic activity, such as swimming or track.

Well that doesn't fit, I enjoy muckin about on a computer but would rather be drinking beer and chatting to young ladies thank you very much!. I am also completely crud at swimming and athletics.

The term "Nerd", meaning "square", goes back at least to 1951, when Newsweek reported the usage as relatively new in Detroit, Michigan. By the 1960s, it took on connotations of bookishness as well as social ineptitude. The word itself first appeared in Dr. Seuss's book If I Ran the Zoo, published in 1950, where it simply names one of Seuss's many comical imaginary animals. (The narrator Gerald McGrew claims that he would collect "a Nerkle, a Nerd, and a Seersucker too" for his imaginary zoo.)

Another theory of the word's origin sees it as a variation on Mortimer Snerd</A>, the name of Edgar Bergen's ventriloquist dummy. Yet another theory traces the term to Northern Electric Research and Development, suggesting images of employees wearing pocket protectors with the acronym N.E.R.D. printed on them. In the 1933 film, Dinner at Eight, Jean Harlow's character replies to her husband's suggestion that she might enjoy mingling with Washington "cabinet members' wives" by saying, "Nerds!... A lot of sour-faced frumps with last year's clothes on, pinning medals on Girl Scouts and pouring tea for the DARs..." [Spelling is from Turner DVD subtitles and not verified by the original script.]

Finally, oral history at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute holds that the word was coined there, spelled as "knurd" ("drunk" spelled backwards), to describe those who studied rather than partied. (This usage predates a similar coinage of "knurd</A>" by author Terry Pratchett.) The term itself was used heavily in the American 1974–1984 television comedy Happy Days which took place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the mid-1950s.

In the 1940s, the word "weakling" or "wimp" was used before the word "nerd" was used widely. Comic book ads for Charles Atlas weights and workout books were often accompanied by a short comic strip about a skinny "weakling" and his girlfriend at the beach. In the strip, a muscular bully kicks sand on the weakling. His girlfriend leaves him for the bully. The weakling exercises (using Atlas's weights) until he has bigger muscles than the bully. He then defeats the bully in a fist fight. The girl leaves the bully, and joins the former weakling again as his girlfriend. This simple comic strip may have shaped nerd-versus-bully storylines thereafter. The nature of the strip tapped into men's fears, hormones, and competitive instincts over women.

Non-nerds often think of nerds as intelligent yet socially awkward people. Nerds generally express an above-normal interest in complex subjects and often function as polymaths. Topics dealing with science, technology, comic books, complex board games (particularly chess, role-playing games, and wargames), <A title="European classical music" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_classical_music">classical music,artificial intelligence, manga> and anime> (see Otaku>), <A title="Video games" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_games">video games, and science fiction, horror and fantasy literature books, TV shows and movies have all become heavily associated with nerds, as have conventions relating to these various topics.

Well I must conceed I am a bit nerdy having an interest in many of the above, but more a passing interest, as in none of the above can I say now I am obsessed, compulsive or talk about in any depth. Again unlike my now Nerdy Geeky mates, round 2 to Chris methinks........