Originally Posted by
Throbert McGee 
In the movie «Иван Васильевич меняет профессию», the character Шурик could be considered a nerd/geek. There isn't an absolute distinction between the two words -- they both refer to someone who is very intelligent/academic/scholarly but lacks basic "social skills." (Shurik builds a time-machine in his apartment but is barely aware that his wife is dissatisfied and cheating on him with her movie director.)
But sometimes "nerd" may particularly suggest academic/scholarly interests more than "geek" does. So a "nerd" could be someone who's very interested in science and does well in biochemistry or physics classes (for example), but a "geek" is someone who is obsessed with science-fiction and gets into passionate arguments about whether Star Trek or Star Wars is superior, but isn't necessarily a good science student.
P.S. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are both frequently mentioned as examples of "alpha nerds" who became incredibly wealthy and successful because of their nerdishness.
P.P.S. Speaking of Shurik and the movie «ИВМП» -- is it possible that, by giving a 20th-century novelty ballpoint pen with a naked lady inside to the 16th-century Swedish ambassador, Жорж Милославский might have changed the course of history (as in the Ray Bradbury short story "A Sound of Thunder" where a time-traveler steps on a Jurassic butterfly) or possibly might even have created a paradox that would tear apart the fabric of the space/time continuum and cause the universe to split into two parallel dimensions? If you have ever gotten into an argument with someone over these questions, then you are definitely a geek/nerd!
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