Are you a geek or a nerd? Scientist creates graph that explains the difference - and shows where YOU are on the scale

Software engineer Burr Settles studied the words used in 2.6 million tweets

He also sampled tweets that matched the query terms 'geek' and 'nerd'

By comparing tweets in each query Settles devised an equation to discover the words most used by geeks and nerds



These words were plotted on a chart along a geeky and nerdy scale



The debate about the differences between geeks and nerds has been raging for years but a scientist believes he has come up with a mathematical equation that may finally put the argument to rest.



Software engineer Burr Settles from Pittsburgh studied the language used in 2.6 million tweets, and also sampled tweets that appeared when he searched for the terms 'geek' and 'nerd'.



By comparing tweets in each query, Settles devised a mathematical equation that established the probability of a particular word appearing in a geeky tweet, or a nerdy one.



Pittsburgh engineer Burr Settles studied the language of 2.6 million tweets to discover the geekiest and nerdiest words and topics. The further along the horizontal axis, pictured, a word appeared, the more nerdy it was. The higher a word appeared on the vertical, y-axis, the more it was associated with being a geek

THE WORDS THAT SEPARATE THE GEEKS FROM THE NERDS

The most nerdy subjects revolved around the words 'cellist', 'neuroscience', 'goths' and 'gamer.' On the geekier end of the scale, words included 'culture', 'shiny' 'trendy' and 'webcomic'.

Settles said geeky words are 'more about stuff, while nerdy words are more about ideas.'

'Geeks are fans, and fans collect stuff; nerds are practitioners, and practitioners play with ideas.' In general terms, Settles found that words such as computers and big data fall in between the two, along the diagonal. Geeky people were shown as more interested in brands, such as Apple, and technologies such as Linux.

In terms of hobbies, more geeky pastimes related to toys and Japanese comics, such as manga, while nerdy hobbies were shown to be chess and sudoku.



Put more simply, Settles worked out which words were used and associated most by geeks or nerds, and what the differences in subjects and topics were.



These words were then plotted on a graph; the further along the horizontal, or x-axis, a word appeared, the more nerdy it was.



The higher a word appeared on the vertical, y-axis, the more it was associated with being a geek, and geek-related



For example, the most nerdy subjects revolved around the words 'cellist', 'neuroscience', 'goths' and 'gamer.'

On the geekier end of the scale, words included 'culture', 'shiny' 'trendy' and 'webcomic'.



Commenting on his findings, Settles said : 'In broad strokes, it seems to me that geeky words are more about stuff, while nerdy words are more about ideas.



'Geeks are fans, and fans collect stuff; nerds are practitioners, and practitioners play with ideas. Of course, geeks can collect ideas and nerds play with stuff, too.



'Plus, they aren’t two distinct personalities as much as different aspects of personality.'

Are you more of a geek, like Dr Sheldon Cooper from TV's The Big Bang Theory, or a nerd, as typified by Ben Wishaw, seen playing Q from Skyfall, the latest film of the Bond franchise



The research also found that all derivatives of the word 'collect' were in orange, meaning they fell on the geekier end of the scale. This included 'boxset'.



Geeky people were found to be more interested in brands, such as Apple, and technologies such as Linux.



In terms of hobbies, more geeky pastimes related to toys and Japanese culture, while nerdy hobbies were shown as chess and sudoku.



In terms of hobbies, more geeky pastimes related to toys and manga. An image from The Life and Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga book is pictured left. While nerdy hobbies included chess and sudoku, pictured right



THE DEFINITION OF GEEK AND NERD

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition of the word geek is someone who is 'unfashionable or socially inept'. It goes on to describe geeks as knowledgeable and obsessive enthusiasts, or 'computer geeks.'

The word 'geek' comes from German dialect for geck, which means fool or freak. In Robert Heinlein's short story The Year of the Jackpot (1952), the word is used to describe a science, math, or technology enthusiast.

A nerd is described as 'a foolish or contemptible person who lacks social skills or is boringly studious.' 'A single-minded expert in a particular technical field' and 'a computer nerd.' The first known use of the word nerd is quoted as the name of a creature in Dr. Seuss's book If I Ran the Zoo from 1950. The narrator Gerald McGrew claims he would collect 'a Nerkle, a Nerd, and a Seersucker too' for his imaginary zoo. The slang meaning dates back to 1951 when Newsweek magazine used it as a synonym for 'drip' or 'square'. At some point, the word became associated with bookishness and social ineptitude.



The similarities and subtle differences between the traits were also highlighted by the fact words such as 'intelligence' were shown as geeky, but 'education' and 'intellectual' were found to be nerdy.



Similarly, books are nerdy, according to the graph, but 'ebooks' fall on the geeky end of the scale.



According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition of the word geek is someone who is 'unfashionable or socially inept'.

It goes on to describe geeks as knowledgeable and obsessive enthusiasts, or 'computer geeks.'



A nerd is described as 'a foolish or contemptible person who lacks social skills or is boringly studious.'

'A single-minded expert in a particular technical field' and 'a computer nerd.'

In an update to his blog post, Settles states events that cause an increase in certain terms and phrases may have skewed the results.



For example, Olivia Culpo who was crowned Miss Universe in December called herself a 'cellist nerd.'

This led to an influx of the word 'cellist' appearing in tweets that appeared when Settles searched for 'nerd', which potentially influenced where in the scale the word fell.



Settles, who also has published scientific studies , examined the tweets from 6 December 2012 and 3 January 2013, and admits that data collected during set time frames have limitations. Settles has made the full data set and the equation available on his blog.





