Does it take Nerds to build model rockets?

[ShutterBug]

Did anyone catch the Simpson's last night? In this episode, Homer is helping Bart build a model rocket. Needless to say, Homer is incapable and the rocket blows up on every attempt. In order to show up his next door neighbor (who helped his children build the perfect rocket), Homer gets his 3 nerdy scientific friends from college to build a mega model rocket. It is quite successful, but wrecks havoc, tearing up part of the town.

Anyway, I found it interesting that they insinuated that it takes the nerdy type to build rockets. We aren't nerds, are we?

 

[Milo]

No... not nerds. Geeks maybe

What's the difference you ask?

Geeks can function socially outside their geek world of computers, rockets, etc. While nerds are socially inept.

 

[tony]

In a colloquial use of the word, I guess "geek" may work. I prefer "fanatic" like the guys who on Monday morning can give you every statistic from the football games the previous day. Reviewing our dialog says it all.

For the record, Dan Webster (1988 - pre-www) says that a "nerd" is an unpleasant, unattractive, or insignificant person and a "geek" is a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usu. includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake.

Now that I think about the latter definition fits me as well.

 

[EMRR]

I thought Nerds were a hard color coated candy with the coating made from various chemicals that if combined properly can replace BP in Estes motors.

Geeks are what have defined as foolish or clumsy and rocketeers are neither foolish, er..., okay are never clumsy!

I prefer rokiteers as we generally can not spell (self included), where a computer geek generally can spell or at the bare minimum create a program to correct all misspellings.

I don't see what the big deal is. Let's consider alternative hobbies:

Golfing: Swinging a club at a little white ball to see if you can get it in a little tiny hole verses doing a swing test to check stability and then punching a hole into the sky.

Fishing: Sticking a hole into something living to catch something living to turn into something we eat to keep on living verse turning something non-living and motionless into a supersonic living vehicle with a mind of its own (sometimes).

Bungee Jumping: Attaching a big rubber band to oneself to allow oneself to be tossed over a bridge hoping that impact or the bounce-back does not split oneself in two verses using a piece of bungee cord to keep two parts of a rocket together.

Who's the geeks?

Nick

 

[Milo]

In the computer world "Geek" (as far as I know) has replaced the term "Hacker" to give a title to someone of guru status. These gurus were once called hackers but that term soon became synonymous with breaking the law. So we needed another term. It is all very confusing. Because now we have "crackers" which seems to refer to the law breakers. Does that mean we can go to being called hackers? And geek is no longer a title for guru status but just somebody that works with computers for a living.

Either way... When someone calls me a geek I do not take offense to it. In fact I thank them for the compliment. Geeks, likes nerds, are usually considered intelligent beings.

BTW: we have spell check now. Since I provided the code to make that happen I guess that makes me a geek. Thank you, I resemble that remark.

When drinking I've been known to act like a carnival performer.