NOVEMBER 9, 2006
GEEK CUBED
GLENDALE, CA
Tyson Mao, (pronounced "Maui" but without the long "e" sound at the end, so basically Mau) is one smart geek (redundant?)
At just 22 years of age, he has accomplished a feat that every kid in my 7th grade class thought was impossible: solving the Rubik's Cube in less than a day! Amazing, right?
But wait, there's more. What if I told you he solved it in under an hour? How about a minute? Okay, what if I told you Tyson Mao solved a Rubik's Cube in less time than it took you to read this paragraph!
14.18 seconds is Mao's best time, but he routinely solves the puzzle in about 16 seconds. Apparently he's not the only person who does this (there are four), Tyson actually learned his technique from another geek named Leyan Lo. According to Wikipedia, "during an explanation by Leyan, Tyson misinterpreted Leyan's method and came up with the now more commonly used method, the basic algorithm for which is [(R' F R F')x3 U2]x2."
That's the basic algorithm? Yeah, I know, I don't know what an algorithm is either. But I noticed that "U2" is involved somehow so that's pretty sweet.
During our day with Tyson, it became increasingly clear that he did not appear to be what is colloquially known as a "geek." Yeah, he was smart, maybe even "nerd" status, but he wasn't socially inept, which is requisite to carry either title. Needless to say, I was confused.
How could a 22 year-old guy who still plays with his Rubik's Cube for hours a day not be considered a geek? And when you throw in chess and his passion for dancing on the ever-popular-back-in-2003 "Dance Dance Revolution" at the local arcade ... I don't know. Tough call.
I needed to get to the bottom of this, so I headed straight for the dictionary and looked up the word "geek." There were three definitions:
1. A carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken.
Definitely not Tyson, but who knew Ozzy Osbourne was a geek?
2. A person regarded as foolish, inept, or clumsy.
I did not find Tyson to be foolish, inept, or clumsy.
I started to think that Tyson might not be a geek after all ... until I came to the final definition:
3. A person with an eccentric devotion to a particular interest.
I mean, come on ... That is Tyson to a T.
So here's how it all ends. Tyson is not a geek in my opinion. He's a smart, witty, super nice kid who's incredibly humble about his gift for math. When we asked him about his I.Q., he said it's just a number, and that everyone has intelligence about something. For example, he suggested that a quarterback's intelligence might be in hitting his wide receiver (or drinking lots of beer and cheating on tests.)
I'm well aware that my opinion does not change the fact that Tyson is technically a geek according to the dictionary. But let me tell you this: anyone who goes precisely by the "technical" definition of what a geek is, is a geek!
But not to worry, because all characters are welcome. Even geeks.
Past Entries:
- (10/31) Danish is Not Dutch
- (10/25) Pali Adventure Camp
- (10/18) From Birds to Ligers
- (10/11) The Man Behind the Mascot
- (10/3) Top Banana