When I was in elementary school, I invested a plenty of time battling competitively on some Pokémon RBY/GSC (Red/Blue/Yellow and Gold/Silver/Crystal) IRC servers. I can’t wait until the school bell rang so I can finally turn on my PC to build my niche GSC Pokémon team consisting of Scyther, Dugtrio, Ursaring, Lanturn, Ninetales, and Venusaur. At the time, using underused Pokémon to wreck bogged standard teams is my favorite game plan.

In RBY metagame, I notice that the correlation of critical hit rate and Pokémon’s speed is linear. Hence, fast Pokémon such as Persian and Aerodactyl have a relatively high critical hit rate. I know that Electrode has the highest rate, yet I can vouch to say that other than his speed, his overall stats is pretty mediocre. Perhaps the only use I can think of Electrode is to keep him using Thunder Wave until he hits low health and then, boom! (I’m sorry Electrode, but Explosion is the only damage dealing move you can do well.)

Meanwhile, in GSC metagame, I know that I’m going to suffer if I let my opponent successfully set Charizard up with Belly Drum after he received some speed boosts from Smeargle via Baton Pass. That’s why I need to break the chain immediately by preparing a defensive tank that can pseudo-haze out the situation. Maybe my Donphan can stop this carnage from happening by using Roar or maybe I should consider sacrificing a Pokémon so my full-health Slowbro can easily swoop the Charizard with Surf.

I tweaked my team with such erudition and this is way before Smogon Strategy Pokedex has established for wider audience. Looking back, the amount of Pokémon strategy I had is rather overwhelming, but as a real eager beaver I was, I’m always willing to go the extra mile to refine my strategy so I can maul the usual stalling ploy of Skarmory and Blissey combo.

Alas, I stopped playing Pokémon competitively starting on the 3rd generation because I think the recalibrated EV system is confusing and I haven’t played the latest version because, for me, the sheer number of new Pokémon can be intimidating. I need to discover a new set of interest the moment I realize the information is too much for me to devour.

Furthermore, I recalled indulging myself into the oddity of EarthBound’s non-traditional humor, the wonderful quirks of point-and-click adventure games from LucasArts, the multicultural references of Cowboy Bebop, and the cyberpunk madness of Ghost in the Shell. (My sardonic self is probably stemmed from the self-deprecating jokes that are contained within these video games and anime.)

With all that being said, can I call myself a geek?

For practical sake, I’m not going to explore the differences between the term ‘geek’ and ‘nerd’. I understand some people would argue that these terms can (or cannot) be used interchangeably, but I guess that’s a whole different topic. So, without further ado, off we go.

The things I mentioned earlier are easily recognized as geeky domains of interest. They have reached cult status and have their own fandoms. My curiosity towards them has led me to learn many interesting things and I could get sucked into their bottomless rabbit holes, leaving me filled with chock-full of glorious details, and boy oh boy, I was enjoying every single moment of those intellectual pursuits.

Yet, I don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all formula for what it means to be a geek. I mean, what determines people’s geekness? Is it the way they dress? Is it their ability to socialize? Or, is it their ardent devotion towards particular interests?

Personally, I subscribe to Becky Chamber’s definition of a geek, “Being a geek is all about your own personal level of enthusiasm, not how your level of enthusiasm measures up to others. If you like something so much that a casual mention of it makes your whole being light up like a halogen lamp, if hearing a stranger fondly mention your favorite book or game is instant grounds for friendship, if you have ever found yourself bouncing out of your chair because something you learned blew your mind so hard that you physically could not contain yourself — you are a geek.” By Chamber’s definition, people don’t have to know all the details in their highly specialized interests to be perceived as geeks.

For example, I don’t know a whole lot about how to produce electronic music, but I’m captivated by how ambient and minimalist music can bring a variety of soundscapes. I can barely contain my excitement whenever there’s an update from Tim Hecker or Jon Hopkins that shows up in my news feed. For that reason, I think I can call myself an electronic music geek because of my strong fascination towards it. One can be genuinely enthusiastic about something without instantly being an expert.

As my personal story also elaborates, it’s perfectly fine if one’s interest towards something will diminish over time. We can be obsessed to one thing, wanting to dissect every information that’s incorporated within, only to find out we will grow weary by it in the future. But that’s all right. Our interests may emerge and/or evolve into something new, into something more interesting. Or, our interests may stay within us, even for our whole lives. All in all, we will keep finding interesting things that can expand our mind, invigorate our body, and enrich our spirit. Being a geek is about being enthusiastic about something by a great degree and wanting to share them to other people. In reference to what the sci-fi author John Scalzi wrote in his geek manifesto, when people share the things they love with such delight, that’s the time they can call themselves a geek.

John Scalzi on what it means to be a geek, “Geekdom is flat. There is no hierarchy. There is no leveling up required, or secret handshake, or entrance examination. There’s just you. Anyone can be a geek. Any way they want to. That means you too. Whoever you are.”

I relish how the social stigma of geeks are becoming more positive with the aid of popular media such as Community, Gravity Falls, etc. I witness more and more people are slowly embracing their inner geeks, and it’s been a great major cultural shift. Whether it’s their fondness of animated TV shows, their enthusiasm of tabletop RPGs, or their fascination of comic book heroes/villains, everything can be interesting through the geek’s eyes.

To say that some people are not qualified enough to become a geek just because they don’t understand some cultural references is downright snobbish. As if it were broadcasting the vain, one-upping attitude, “I know more than you.” Instead of alienating people to take part into geek culture, geekdom should accept all kind of people and welcome them with open arms. Nobody should be the arbiter of geekdom, because the only person who can define whether a person is a geek or not is the person himself. Geekdom shouldn’t let any exclusionary tactics to prevail within its culture and geeks don’t have to legitimize their hobbies by claiming some kind of superiority.

As long as geekdom doesn’t morph into some elitist cliques that everyone hates, I think we’re all heading towards the right direction. That is, we’re starting to accept people for being curious about their own inquiries and celebrate the fact that it’s neat for people to like things that they deeply care about. Because, after all, being interesting for one’s sake without having to prove anything to anyone is the only thing that matters to the geeks.