As much as we define ourselves, we are also defined by THOSE we fight as we are also defined by HOW we fight and that that we are even fighting at all.
Equivalence.
My take on it has been from a “tropes” POV, so I try to find all tropes that suit me and those that don’t, and try to find the equivalence between them. It’s challenging at times; I was referred to as a neckbeard only once [by someone who corrected himself a few minutes later] and yet it provided the impetus for an interesting self-analysis: “How much am I *almost* a neckbeard? yet still not entirely?”
I wrote up a 10 page analysis, going point by point using an online quiz with either:
NECKBEARD
ALMOST A NECKBEARD
NOT A NECKBEARD.
This way, he was correct in his assertion based on limited information (my neck has beard hair on it and I argue on the Internet] and at the same time, incorrect.
Equivalence works in a number of realms, if not all of them – and yes, perhaps all of them.
And the results? I narrowly skirted being a NECKBEARD in many parts of my life, but came _really really_ close many times 😛
Interestingly, the DDC classified what I wrote as:
DDC Confidence
501: Philosophy & theory 0.65
005: Computer programming, programs & data 0.20
190: Modern western philosophy 0.04
501 is in the realm of
“DDC – 500 – Natural sciences & mathematics”
So even though it appeared I was talking about stereotypes and tropes, which one might consider in another field altogether, I _was_ really speaking philosophy & theory in the realm of Natural Sciences & Mathematics. In short, I was speaking your language tongue emoticon