Always a Geek, Never a Greek, One Time a Freak

How Do You Know If You are a Geek or a Nerd

There are some simple qualifiers to help one determine if they belong in the kingdom of geeks or the kingdom of nerds. The first and most obvious is dress. Perhaps, in high school, my dress was a blend of nerd and geek, because I had not yet totally defined my place in one of these two societies. I did wear button down shirts, but I didn't button the top button, and I didn't wear horn-rimmed glasses (or any glasses, for that matter). I also didn't wear dress shoes (which is more nerdish), I mainly wore sneakers, and jeans, not dress slacks that were too short.

Some people might argue that I am nerd, because my chosen profession is in the sciences, but I am always dabbling in more geekish fields, such as writing. Also, nerds have a tendency to not interact with other people well on a social level as do geeks, therefore I must place myself higher on the geek tree limb that I am on the nerd tree limb. I also have a tendency to talk about things that interest me to people who could really care less and become easily bored with my topics of conversation. (I hope I'm not boring you!!!)

I Have Geek Pride, Just as My Geek Friends

Would you be embarrassed to admit it if you were a geek? Because, being a geek is not as obvious from outward appearances as is being a nerd, you might actually have to tell people where you fit in on occasions. I'm proud of being a geek even though my heritage is not geekish in nature, nor is it nerdish, freakish, greaserish, or anything other than totally straightish (in that no other social group fits my ancestors.

I have no desire to be anything other than a geek. Most of my g.ood friends are also geeks (perhaps an occasional nerd sprinkled in for good measure). I don't feel like I am an outsider anymore, because most of the people I knew way back when, that were "frat guys," I have long since parted company with. Some of them may have found some success in their chosen fields, but I do not know that with any degree of scientific or statistical certainty.

Who but a geek, would sit in a Burger King restaurant in the middle of a snowstorm writing a Hub on his netbook computer about being a geek. I would certainly be surprised if I would find a Theta Xi alum doing such a thing. I imagine that they are all at home now watching football games on TV. (Not that there is anything wrong with that).

Too Geek to go Greek

Back in my college years, I had many friends that pledged various Greek Fraternities, and sometimes I wonder if I had decided to pledge on of those fraternities, if it would have changed the outcome of my life. There were options, such as Alpha Delta Phi, Alpha Beta Kappa, Theta Xi, among many others. Most of my friends had pledged to Theta Xi, but I decided that I was too Geek to go Greek, so I didn't pledge to any fraternity.

In my day, there was no Lamda Lamda Lamda (aka Tri-Lam), such as was portrayed in the Revenge of the Nerds (note: there IS a difference between nerds and geeks) series of movies. Perhaps if their had been, my decision would have been different. But, alas, there is no way to go back in time, and test whether or not life would have been any different for me. Of course, if you subscribe to the infinite parallel universe theory, the outcome has already been tested elsewhere in another dimension in the universe.

How I Became a Geek

I didn't ask to become a geek, nor did I make any conscious decision to become a geek. It more-or-less just happened over the course of time. I guess, I first realized that I was somewhere caught between geek and freak when I was in senior high school, when I had shoulder length hair, wore a pocket protector, and carried a slide rule (which I never really understood how to use).

When there a came a division among the geeks, freaks, and greasers, I knew for sure that I wasn't a greaser, and since I didn't indulge in the excessive use of drugs or other mind-altering substances, I determined that my place of belonging was more in geekdom than in freakdom.

The additional fact that I was more interested in chemistry, biology, and algebra than I was in football, baseball, or any other sport, cemented my belonging in the kingdom of geeks. Thankfully, I had many companions who joined me in this world of rag-tag outcasts from the world of the "cool kids."

"The Big Bang Theory": Geeks or Nerds?

There may be varying opinions on the subject about whether the characters portrayed in "The Big Bang Theory" are geeks or Nerds. Based on the research I have done on the difference between the two, I would have to say that there is blend of the two amongst the various characters. A geek has an intimate knowledge (ie is an expert) of one particular subject. Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, and Bernadette I believe best characterize geeks, because they are experts in one particular area of a scientific discipline. Of them all, I believe Sheldon may be a slight blend of geek and nerd, because although he is an expert on the subject of theoritical physics, he is quite socially awakward which is more of a nerd characteristic than a geek characteristic.

Amy Farrah Fowler and Howard fit the nerd profile better than the geek profile, although neither is as socially awakward as Sheldon, they adhere more to the geek dress code. Howard, although he is a mechanical engineer has varied nerdy interests such as being an astronaut, and Amy, although a neuroscientist, is very focused on turning her relationship with Sheldon into something more than a very platonic boy-girl relationship. So, the underlying question is can a geek and a nerd ever sucessfully form a loving relatinship that will stand the test of time. More importantly is the question of whether, we, the faithful viewers of "The Big Bang Theory," will every find out. Please Gods of TV programming, let us find out!!!!

Then of course there is Penny. What can we say about Penny. She is obviously neither a geek nor a nerd. She certainly isn't a freak or a greaser either. Straight, maybe?? Dumb blonde, definitely, but we haven't really established a dumb blonde category here, so perhaps we must do that.

What Does the Future Hold for Geeks?

By now you may be asking yourself, where will you find geeks in the future years. You will find us at Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and working in scientific communities, such as Masdar City, which is a scientific community dedicated to being 100% environmentally friendly. You will find us in physics research labs attempting to send objects into the future, and trying to understand why it's theoritically impossible to send objects (or people) into the past. You will find us trying to understand what happens to things after they have reached the singularity in a black hole. Is there another place in the universe beyond the singularity? Is there a white hole on the other side of a black hole that leads into another dimension? We will be there trying to figure out what a worm hole is and where does it lead. We will be the ones asking the most important scientific questions that need to be answered.

We will be the ones thinking outside the box when it comes to researching diseases that currently have no cures, such as Parkinson's Disease, Lou Gherigs's Disease, Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, and many others too numerous to mention. We will be depending on our nerd co-workers in IT to keep our computers up to snuff so we can record all of our data somewhere safe for the ultimate good of humanity. You see, geeks and nerds are team players. The ultimate future good of mankind depends on geeks and nerds, because without us, enropy would occur at a rate so fast that the entire universe would probably just distintegrate.

Geeks and Nerds: Summing it Up

• There is a difference between geeks and nerds
• Geeks and nerds are team players.
• The future good of humanity is dependent on geeks and nerds.
• The characters in "The Big Bang Theory" are a blend of geeks and nerds.
• Geeks and nerds need each other to be successful in their careers.
• It's OK to be a geek or a nerd.
• Without geeks and nerds, entropy would run amok and the universe would destroy itself.