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Who Are the Geeks Among Us?
A geek isn’t just someone who wears glasses and quotes Star Trek (though it’s very possible they do both). At its core, being a geek is about knowing things. Not just casually, but obsessively.
It’s a love of diving deep, of peeling back the layers, of understanding something inside out. You can be a geek about video games, molecular biology, poetry from the 1800s, or antique train models (Yes, we were thinking of Sheldon).
What unites all geeks is passion paired with knowledge. It’s not nerdy. It’s invested.
Do you know a geek?
Odds are, you do. They’re the friend who corrects historical inaccuracies in war movies. The colleague who owns a soldering iron and uses it. (Note from the editor, who is Flame: I have owned soldering irons for a large part of my life and never once considered it was a geeky thing.😂 A remnant from when I had it to fix the never ending cables that would burn out during band practice.)
The cousin who runs a Dungeons & Dragons campaign with PowerPoint slides. They probably own at least one weird T-shirt referencing a 90s anime, a now-defunct programming language, or a band that never made it past Bandcamp. They might collect dice, fountain pens, vintage coins, or knowledge itself. If you’ve ever seen someone get visibly excited explaining a subject you barely understood, Congrats! You’ve spotted a geek in the wild.
Geeks can come in different genres too: The Star Wars collector who knows every ship class by heart. The WWII tank buff who can name battles by armour specs. The Linux sysadmin who runs a home server for fun. The Shakespeare meme-maker who turns iambic pentameter into TikToks. Geekdom spans galaxies.
The Anatomy of a Geek Brain
Ever seen someone fall down a rabbit hole and build a tunnel system? That’s geek brain in action. When a geek finds something they love, they don’t just skim the surface. They go spelunking. The drive to know everything about a topic (and then maybe start a podcast about it) is hardwired. It could be learning Elvish, mastering neural networks, or memorising every Doctor Who regeneration. The thrill goes beyond just the knowing, but lies in the quest to know.
That’s why a geek’s favourite phrase is often “Did you know…?”
… followed by a fact you absolutely didn’t know and weren’t prepared to hear over lunch.
There are studies linking passionate learning and deep focus to dopamine release, and some even compare geek-style hyperfocus to flow states. Translation? Geeking out feels good. It’s the brain rewarding curiosity like it just beat the final boss.
The Many vast Realms of Geekdom
Geekdom is not a monolith. It’s a sprawling multiverse of passions, obsessions, and hyper-specific expertise. While the stereotype might conjure images of comic books or gaming rigs, the reality is far broader (and sometimes weirder).
- Pop Culture Geeks. The ones quoting Marvel movies before the credits roll and arguing over which anime was the peak of the series. They have strong opinions about character arcs, fan theories, and video game mechanics. Their shelves are equal parts action figures and Blu-rays.
- STEM Geeks. They live for elegant code, quantum mechanics, and mathematical puns. They can explain the difference between a black hole and a wormhole, and they might've built their own mechanical keyboard from scratch just because they could.
- Academic Geeks. These are the ones enchanted by dusty texts and historical footnotes. They might study medieval battle tactics, collect rare books, or write fanfiction in Shakespearean English. These geeks turn research into an art form.
- Unexpected Geeks are hiding in plain sight. They're the coffee aficionado who has opinions about burr grinders, the chess player who replays famous matches for fun, or the musician who obsessively compares the tone of every guitar pedal. They prove that geekdom isn’t limited to what’s trendy. It’s simply caring deeply, no matter the topic.
The Rituals and Routines of the Devoted
So, what do geeks actually get up to in their free time? The short answer: a lot. And it likely involves obsessive research, colour-coded spreadsheets, or a never ending mission to convert others into fellow enthusiasts.
Geeks are natural deep divers. You might find them poring over Reddit threads, engaging in epic forum debates, or cross-referencing obscure facts just to win an argument no one else remembers. They may build spreadsheets to track video game achievements, character builds, or the best way to optimise a Pokémon team. Yes, there are formulas.
Their calendars could include niche conferences and fan conventions that revolve around things like vintage synthesizers or speculative fiction. And they’re often spending time trying to convert friends, family, pets, and random acquaintances into fans. “Please just watch the first three episodes” is less of a request and more of a lifestyle mission statement.
The Joy of Mastery: Why Geeks Keep Learning
It’s not always about showing off (although let’s be honest. Sometimes, it is.) It’s about understanding. For geeks, knowledge is less about status and more about clarity. They want to know how things work, why they work that way, and what happens when you push the boundaries. Mastery is a byproduct of curiosity that got out of hand (in the best possible way).
Whether it’s learning every frame of a Studio Ghibli film or optimising a home network for peak performance (see what I did there? PS: We just won #1 Best Broadband in Asia, and I’m only slightly sorry for the CTA banner below this section),geeks thrive on the satisfaction of building, solving, and improving.
There’s an intrinsic joy in seeing how all the pieces fit together.
And then maybe rearranging them just for the heck of it.
Just to see what else is possible.
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Love, Actually: When Geeking Out Becomes Community
Geekdom thrives in community. Whether it’s on Discord, Reddit, or at a local board game café, geeks naturally seek out others who share their passions. These gathering places are where obscure references land, niche jokes get laughs, and debates about imaginary worlds are taken very seriously.
There’s something deeply satisfying about finding “your people.” The ones who get just as excited about a comic book plot twist or the latest open-source update. It’s a powerful thing to be seen, understood, and maybe even challenged within your area of obsession. For many, these spaces go far beyond “fandoms.” They’re friendships, support systems, and yes, sometimes even the start of love stories that begin with “I can’t believe you also love Firefly.”
Final Word: Embrace the Geek Within
Let’s be honest. Everyone geeks out about something. Whether it’s ancient civilisations, retro video games, or the best Bubble Tea recipe. That spark of curiosity, the deep dive, the urge to share what you’ve learned? That’s geek energy.
So, here’s to the replica lightsaber builders, the bird migration mappers, and the Excel perfectionists. Own it. Celebrate it. The world needs more people who care that much.
Stay Geeky, friends.
