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I was into the whole comic-book concept. … And the whole comic-book concept of adapting this alternative persona was a big inspiration on the development of hip-hop culture. Case in point: Since I’m the fastest D.J., I’m going to call myself Grandmaster Flash. You’d create this alternative urban superhero persona who could do all the cool things that you fantasize about doing—graffiti or rap or break-dancing. It inspired a lot of New York City kids. It made me a graffiti artist.

What a treat. Some enterprising souls made an online quiz based on my book What's the Difference?, complete with graphics.

I wrote the book in 2005 so I am afraid to take it myself...

I did two Barnes & Noble appearances for my 2005 book What's the Difference?: How to Tell Things Apart that Are Confusingly Close. At both, I had examples from the book on display (and, in some cases, to taste test).

At the first appearance, I brought examples including apple juice vs. apple cider and perfume vs. eau de parfum vs. eau de toilette. I asked a martial arts expert to come and demonstrate the difference between judo and karate (the trade-off being he could promote his business), but we ended up having no space. (He said he enjoyed himself just the same.)

I couldn’t very well show a meteoroid (a rock in space) or a meteor (said rock when plummeting through our atmosphere; otherwise known as a shooting star), and I didn’t happen to own a meteorite (a meteor that doesn’t burn up and actually lands on Earth). But the American Museum of Natural History did.

So I called them. And asked them if I could borrow one of theirs. And credit the seriousness of science or just a pinch of good karma, but the curator I was asking did not laugh me off the phone.

There is actually a form for this. I filled it out and on my way downtown to the event, I stopped by and picked up my cosmic chunk loaner.

Yet the meteorite was not the craziest example I brought. That distinction belongs to a pair that would not stand out in even a humble home but does in any bookstore.

This was a title bout.

Hamster vs. gerbil.

There were two hurdles involved in wrangling those critters. First, I had to get the bookstore’s approval. Second, I had to find a nearby pet store willing to bring them by. (For no charge.) The store would not, of course, allow animals (aside from seeing-eye dogs). But somehow I managed to convince them to allow in these two itty bitty pets for a short time, with the assurance that both would remain in their cages. (Neither I nor the pet store would’ve wanted to release them anyway.)

The first pet store I called reacted the way I thought the AMNH was going to—with a flat-out no; their company policy forbid them from removing the animals. A subsequent store was more lax—luckily. They agreed to bring a hamster and gerbil in their respective tanks and stay an hour.

True to my descriptions in the book, the hamster was shy, hiding most of the time, while the gerbil was hyperactive, running his wheel silly for long stretches to the audible amusement of the crowd. These little rodents made a big spectacle, attracting stragglers, just as I’d hoped.

I just regret that I took zero photos of the tabletop circus.

Here is one of my favorite entries from my book What's the Difference?: How to Tell Things Apart that Are Confusingly Close, modified only slightly from its publication version:

What’s the difference between “story by,” “screenplay by,” and “written by” in film credits?

Hollywood filmmaking is a collaborative art that begins even before the first scene is shot. Even before the actors are hired. Yes, even before merchandising rights are sold. A screenwriter will tell you that, creditwise, he’s probably going to be screwed in one of two ways. One, either his name will stay on a film he originated or wrote an early draft for although subsequent writers rewrote it so much (and often, so badly) that none of his work remains. Or two, he’ll be the rewrite guy who molds the screenplay into brilliance but who won’t get credit due to one of the following policies, each of which carries its own formulas of just how much of a script a person needs to contribute (and when) to earn that particular credit.

A “story by” credit is given to the person or team who came up with the essence of a film (such as the plot or main characters) and who may have written a treatment, but who didn’t write the screenplay. Similarly, a “screen story by” credit goes to a person or team who adapted other material such as a novel, a TV show, or a news article for film and made it substantially different from the source.

A “screenplay by” credit is given to the person or team who wrote the scenes and dialogue of a screenplay but didn’t generate the idea for the story.

A “written by” credit is given to the person or team who both conceived of the story and wrote the screenplay. It usually merges “story by” and “screenplay by.”

RELATED TERMS:

“And” indicates multiple writers or writing teams who contributed but did not collaborate directly—they may never have even met. Examples are “Andrew Douglas and Justin Goldstein” or “Mike Fox and Bethany Kant and Rachel Loonin.”

An ampersand (&) indicates multiple people or teams who wrote together. Examples are “Darren Sapper & Matt Small” or “Kevin Alansky & Rachel Fremont and Seth Kessler & Dara Neumann.” (Here, Alansky and Fremont wrote together, Kes

Here is one of my favorite entries from my book What's the Difference?: How to Tell Things Apart that Are Confusingly Close, modified only slightly from its publication version:

What’s the difference between a DEMOCRACY and a REPUBLIC?

Of all the differences in this book, here is the one you’re probably most embarrassed to admit you can’t explain. It was covered practically every year in school, yet you still don’t remember. The difference comes down to who’s got the authority. (Doesn’t it always?) Here’s a teaser: America is not a democracy. Just as the Founding Fathers intended.

In 1787, James Madison wrote in the Federalist Paper 14, “The true distinction between these forms…is that in a democracy, the people meet and exercise the government in person; in a republic they assemble and administer it by their representatives and agents. A democracy, consequently, must be confined to a small spot. A republic may be extended over a large region.”

In a democracy, majority rules. In a republic, the rights of the individual rule. In a democracy, the masses can outweigh the individual, whereas in a republic, no group can override the rights of any single citizen. Some even liken democracy to mob rule—whether the mob’s opinion is “right” or “wrong.” But a republic is rule by law as decided by the entire population.

A democratic government can become a tyranny—tyranny of the majority. A republican government doesn’t have power over its citizens—it gets its power from its citizens. It says so in the Declaration of Independence, right after mentioning the pursuit of happiness. Democratic governments grant rights—and can take them away. Republican governments see rights as unalienable, and protect them.

Both democracies and republics can have elected leaders, but in democracies, those leaders can set law on their own—like a monarchy. While a democracy can have royalty, a republic has no hereditary rulers such as kings and queens. That doesn’t preclude a so-called republic being ruled by a dictator—sometimes a per

Here is one of my favorite entries from my book What's the Difference?: How to Tell Things Apart that Are Confusingly Close, modified only slightly from its publication version:

What’s the difference between a GEEK and a NERD?

You probably use the words interchangeably, most likely in reference to your boss or your brother-in-law or both. Take note, Judgmental One: this kind of labeling does a disservice to both species. It surely will not be surprising to learn that the Internet is brimming with message board posts debating this subject. Equally unsurprising, consensus is elusive.

A geek seems to be any smart person with an obsessive interest. Despite widespread misconception, that interest does not have to be computers or Star Trek. While those are two of the most visible kinds of geeks, there are also comic book geeks, reality TV geeks, World War II geeks, motorcycle geeks, organic food geeks, politics geeks, and even sports geeks. As such, most of us are geeks of one kind or another, whether or not we admit it. Yes, geeks are more mainstream than previously believed. If you’ve got a passion and a serviceable IQ, you’re loving proof. Geeks like to talk about the object of their affection, sometimes far more than anyone is willing to listen.

A nerd, too, seems to be any smart person with an obsessive interest, but also a lack of social grace. (This correctly implies that geeks can indeed have social grace.) Nerds are uncompromisingly pure, often more comfortable with themselves than non-nerds. They are not wimpy. In fact, they are courageous because they do not give in to the expectations of a superficial society. They are driven to excel academically: nerds are promiscuous studiers. It’s a generalization rooted in truth that they gravitate toward math, science, and technology.

Geeks can blend in, nerds stand out, though neither craves acceptance. Except for a few stressful teenage years, geeks and nerds have no shame about their classification. While both words were at one time insulting, nowadays they are routinely used as terms of endearment. Geeks and nerds would go so far as say they take pride in these monikers.

Geekdom is a lifestyle choice and nerddom is quite possibly genetic, though even a cursory check of any decade-old high school yearbook will invariably turn up a nerd who has since beaten biology and blossomed into hunkdom or babedom. Geeks interact with non-geeks, sometimes quite successfully. Nerds prefer to—or have no choice but to—hang with their own kind. Bo

2 Comments on Geek vs. nerd, last added: 1/20/2011

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Karen Romano Young said, on 1/20/2011 8:33:00 AM

I'm loving this discussion and appreciate your scholarship. With all due respect, I think you're wrong about dork, because I think that dorks are often lovable. They are awkward fools, but sometimes they are fools for the right reasons and sometimes what we love about them is that they are willing to look like fools -- or can't avoid it because they are so intense. What could be more appealing to a girl, for example, than a guy who makes himself a complete dork for love of her? As in the film Crossing Delancey, when Peter Riegert says to Amy Irving, "Go ahead, say it: 'Schmuck, what are you still doing here?'" Say dork instead of schmuck and you get the idea. And they fall in love.

Marc Tyler Nobleman said, on 1/20/2011 12:43:00 PM

Well played, Karen. And I don't have your science mind, but of course, science does have its limits. It has gotten us to the moon and back and enabled us to transfer organs from one organism to another, yet it may never provide a definitive definition of any of THESE species... :)

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In April 2004, I began to pitch publishers a book for adults and teens called What's the Difference? It was the result of years’ worth of collecting a specific type of factoid. The book would whimsically explain the differences between pairs (or groups) that we confuse or simply can’t articulate a distinction between, including alligator/crocodile, vanilla/French vanilla, and geek/nerd (plus dweeb and dork).

That same month, the humorous trivia junkie magazine mental_floss (which was on my radar but which I did not read regularly) put out Condensed Knowledge, a book stuffed with eclectic, cleverly organized facts. It included a recurring callout feature called…"What’s the Difference?" Of its 14 comparisons, only one was already on the short list for my proposed table of contents: rap vs. hip-hop.

In early 2005, I sold my book to Barnes & Noble’s publishing division. That September, it came out in their stores and on their site bn.com. (If only picture books could move that fast.)

Just before Thanksgiving of that year, I learned that the "What’s the Difference?" feature from mental_floss was based on a recurring magazine feature of the same name. I tracked down the first two issues that included it.

Four comparisons from these first two installments were in my book as well:

• kung fu/karate (I also included judo)
• hurricane/typhoon (I also included cyclone and tornado)
• murder/manslaughter (I also included homicide)
• mountain lion/cougar (I didn’t have this as a main comparison but rather part of the "Related Terms" of panther/leopard/jaguar)

On 12/4/08, I had the honor of appearing at the annual holiday book fair of the Union League Club of New York. It was first described to me as the “mother of cool book fairs.” It's open only to club members and their guests. We’re told the money goes to its scholarship foundation.

It’s the first and still-only book fair for which I’ve had to wear a tie.

NOTE: Photos are from 2009 fair. However, sometimes accuracy is irrelevant.