Month: April 2012

Thanks for stopping by, Laurel :) Thanks for continuing the conversation!

I agree with you about the creators of the infographic being marketing hipsters, but the info for the graphic was pulled from somewhere. And while labels are not important to me, the whole thing makes me uncomfortable with the lack of recognizing women as part of these (however entwined) communities. And that’s rather my point.

Ultimately, many of the problems with this infographic actually mirror what’s wrong the culture itself.

How can we encourage women to profit from so-called geek and nerd professions (such as math, science, technology), to be proud of their brainy activities when the female-dominated professions of librarians, for example, are so dismissed? Why would women even to pursue such fields when they are so dismissed — and even are treated as sexist toys or gifts — in the culture?

Thanks for giving such a perfect explanation of the different meanings of the words, Shevi. The second paragraph of your comment does a better job than their entire ginormous “infographic” :)

[And my nerd husband points out further that an infographic ought to be effective without having to read the words….]

I saw this poster on a friend’s Pinterest board. I agree with you: it’s so wrong!

I do see a difference between the terms “geek” and “nerd,” but it’s only in that being a geek is about being extremely enthusiastic about something, while being a “nerd” is about being extremely knowledgeable about something.

As in a Lord of the Rings geek loves Lord of the Rings; while a Lord of the Rings nerd know things about Lord of the Rings most fans don’t even know.

Geeks and nerds tend to have the same interests. You can be a tech geek (I am), but you can also be a tech nerd (sadly, I’m not that knowledgeable). I’m a book nerd, because I know a lot about books and writing. I’m also a book geek, because I love books with a passion. I’m also both a comics geek and a comics nerd. And I love Nerdcore almost to the point of geekiness (but not quite).

I think being knowledgeable and enthusiastic are wonderful traits, so I’m a proud nerd and a proud geek. We should ALL be. The world would be a better place if we could all unabashedly embrace our passions. Nerds and geeks rule!