I'll begin with outward appearance, the easiest of
differances.
A Dork is someone who is, for the most part, still
dressed
by his/her mother. This leads to all kinds of asthetic
problems: Sweater sets, knee socks, brightly-colored
shorts,
brightly-colored shorts along with knee socks,
etc.
A Nerd typically actually dressed him/herself, though
is often
confused with the Dork because he still looks
like
he/she is dressed by said maternal unit.
The Geek, on the other hand, dresses him/herself, and
it shows.
The Geek has a firm grasp on the asthetic and dresses
acordingly.
Whether or not the garb is actually astheticly pleasing
is
entirely a conscious decision on the part of the
Geek.
This intentional violation of appearance rules
should be
made clearly separate from the Nerd or Dork's appalling
appearance.
They violate the asthetic either because they don't
know any better (or the maternal figure
in question doesn't know any better), or they just
don't give a damn.
When the Geek violates the asthetic, it is to serve a
specific purpose.
That brings me to the second differential: Social
Consciousness.
Dorks tend to be totally oblivious to the concept of
social acceptability.
Nerds usually have some idea, but just don't care.
Geeks know perfectly well what the local social mores, etc, are, and use them
to his/her own advantage. Manipulating them at will,
thus showing a fairly
refined understanding of said social codes.
In general, Geeks tend to be much more socially aware
than either
Nerds or Dorks.
Nerds are aware of the workings of society, but just
don't care
to follow them or violate them. They don't worry about anything but their chosen interests.
Dorks, on the other hand, pitiable creatures they are,
just simply don't have a clue. They do what they do
because
they truly have no idea.
Geeks are very much "obsessed" with the fantastic, science fiction, movies, computers and what not. However, they tend to be more "artistic" and asthetic in their approach to these obsessions. They are able to laugh at themselves and see the world through more than just the point of view given by their interests. As such, they are often sarcastic. One of the best ways to tell a Geek from a Dork or Nerd, is to actually refer to the party in question as "A Geek". A Nerd will usually just mumble something they percieve as "cutting wit" and go about their business ignoring you. A Dork will most likely become defensive and possibly be emmotionally scarred by the experience. A Geek, on the other hand, will most likely respond with a phrase such as "Damn Skippy!", or "What's your fucking point?". So, yes, we do tend to be the more arrogant and self-assured of the three.
The original defition of "Geek" was someone, usually a
sideshow perfomer, who consumed live animals. I'm
still not sure how/where/why this evolved into a
label for my particular "social caste", but it does
have a rather satisfying, if gruesome, appropriateness.
if this goddamn machine doesn't quit telling me that "PS_IC-K_HPVN is out of paper", I'm gonna flip a gaskit. There's not a damn thing I can do about it!
brillig outgrabe tumtum tree jabberwock snicker-snack!
