omg i am such a nerd

I recently heard someone talking about their laptop.  They were discussing its features, and mentioned that it had "USB 3.0" ports.  Immediately after, they gave a quick disclaimer apologizing for being "such a nerd."

Everyone's definition of a nerd is different, so I won't even attempt to say what the correct definition is. However, I think this example shows a trend with people today.  Although they are more tech-savvy than ever, it has become undesirable to actually know what is going on.  The movement toward mobile devices that don't allow easy access to the "behind-the-scenes" of the computer's workings causes a greater divide between those that know what's going on and those that don't.

On a similar note, I viewed a YouTube video the other day that claimed to explain 3D animation.  In it, the narrator talks about the difficulties of animating water (or other liquids).  I'll let you watch it first.  The video automatically begins at the point of interest, and ends when he says "What?"  After you have watched it, come back.  I'll wait.  LINK

I find his behavior appalling.  Triangulation?  XYZ plane?  Cosine?  Really?  Are these so hard to understand that you have to turn on your mocking voice to say?  Oh, I wouldn't dare sound like someone who understands math.  People say we need to invest more in education so America can produce more scientists and engineers.  Why would a kid ever want to pursue math or science after watching that video?  I want to be like the cool, attractive, successful guy, not like someone who understands the square root of pi.