Revenge of the nerd

During my schooling years, I always winced inwardly whenever someone referred to me as a nerd. But those people were wrong, I wasn't a nerd... I was actually more of a dork (until my senior year in high school when I got a life, thanks to serendipitous reshuffling ;p). The difference between a nerd and a dork? Some definitions draw the line by saying a nerd is someone alienated for being unusually smart or academically outstanding, whereas a dork is not necessarily brainy, but lacks social skills or exhibits weird personal traits (ergo the alienation). And a geek is not the same thing either, it refers to a person who is so absorbed in a particular field (e.g. nuclear physics :p) that he alienates himself from others.

Several years later, I have taken to labeling myself as a dork, in a mixture of self-deprecation and strange pride. But I am actually more a nerd now, and an online quiz I got from fellow nerd Rachel's blog proved it. My results show that I am 52 % Nerd, 30% Geek, and 43% Dork. It also said I scored higher than 46% girls my age on nerdiness, higher than 38% on geekosity, and higher than 74% on dork points (must be all the Star Trek I watch, right Mads?). Funny that this doesn't cause me any embarrassment now-- in fact I find it amusing and even a compliment to my intelligence to be called a nerd. I guess in high school, alienation is a big deal and tough for a teenager to handle. As you grow older, you realize that being alienated from people who make you feel bad for being smart isn't so bad at all. :)

P.S. I bought a Happy Meal and got a Chicken Little toy! Whee! *clap clap*