There was a lot of anti-intellectualism in the US at the time. You know, doing well on a test and other students would say "nerd alert nerd alert". The nerd in the movies always had his glasses taped together and was always asked to "say that again in English" and of course they didn't win the girl. But people like me simply did not care.

I remember instances of finally understanding something, and the feeling that somebody had suddenly turned the lights on.