<p>2forcollege-- that sounds exactly like something I would do! I actually do similar things for assignments from time to time in making them harder for myself than I absolutely have to if I know I’m going to get something out of it.</p>
<p>amb3r-- I’m glad I don’t strike you as pretentious and name-droppy, and from my volume of posts in this section of the CC universe, I guess I’m the universal “go-to” on all things U of C, but I am only one person here and answer questions the way I see them, not necessarily on behalf of the student body as a whole. (Though I try my best to encorporate both). One of the problems of CC is that though you may be familiar with my posts and the way I write, you don’t really know me. So I think it behooves me to explain that a good chunk of my good friends here are of the Monty Python and Kant variety (not to mention spouting phrases in foreign languages!), as that sort of zaniness really attracts me, even though I don’t usually embody it. That said, not all of my friends are zany in that particular way, and I don’t think that most Chicagoans are zany in that particular way, though I do think that they, like me, are open to it and amused by it.</p>
<p>I’d also like to take a second to stand up for those of us who are sometimes misunderstood in the way we address things that important to us. Most of the people who do say uberdork things are NOT trying to emphasize their superiority, they’re just saying what comes naturally and talking about what excites them. If somebody is trying to make sure you know that you’re not as smart as they are, they will let you know. Otherwise, I think you have to give people the benefit of the doubt and understand that words like “epistolary” and “patois” might come out of their mouth, but if you ask them what it means they’ll make profuse apologies and give a definition of the word. Even though wikipedia reading is rampant here, I don’t think that people are celebrated for their stores of internet-acquired useless information or approach information competitively. (Unless they are on quizbowl, in which case that’s the whole point).</p>