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> > Having thought about this, I would say a geek is somebody who actually *is* very good at the sort of things nerds like to *think* they are good at. For example, if I had a major computer problem, I would not ask a nerd for help, but I would ask a geek.
> >
> > I also think of "nerd" as a derogatory term whereas "geek" is not.
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> I've called myself a nerd many times, mostly with regard to music (after catching myself in conversation with other music-y type people about music stuff which the people we're with don't have a clue about.
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> I could never call myself a geek. Maybe both terms are a bit adolescent in my mind, but i think of geek as someone who's consumed by the kind of things a nerd is interested in and informed on. Like maybe (on an entertainment level) the following Star Trek example. Person A (nerd) might keep up with Star Trek, read an occasional book on the stuff, try to see the movies in the theatre, and she is able to carry on a silly conversation about the difference between Romulans and Vulcans. Person B (geek) goes to conventions, having made up his own "Trekkie" cultures which don't exist outside his own head, and feels the need to know the Klingon language for reasons other than cursing.
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> In my mind, at least, nerds can still live normal lives. Geeks don't have a prayer.

See, this is really the same as the way I described it, but in a different context. Setting aside the value/importance of the actual subject matter, which person would you go to for trustworthy advice if you needed to know a Klingon word, or the interior layout of the third deck on a Federation starship? The geek, that's who. They don't just play around in their chosen area of geekery, they're *really, really good* at it.