Electronics and ham radio hobbyists were the equivalent of computer geeks. In fact, the first home computers were electronic kits that needed to be assembled be

Electronics and ham radio hobbyists were the equivalent of computer geeks. In fact, the first home computers were electronic kits that needed to be assembled before they could be used. Hacking the phone system to make long-distance calls was a thing too. I'm sure there have always been people who hyper-focused on something. In the 1800s it was probably scientific experiments.