"one of his “friends” was sure to groan and say how boring Ross was, how stupid it is to be smart, and that nobody cares"
The sad fact is that the majority of people will find intelligent discussion extremely boring. Especially if it's about extremely esoteric topics.
From another perspective, Ross didn't seem to understand social cues and continued to talk about topics that his friends clearly didn't understand or enjoy.
It's less about bashing intellectuals and more about pointing out ineptitude that many smart people have when it comes to social intelligence.
I enjoy watching these types of shows because I don't really have to think. It's the same reason I watch stupid reality TV.
"This may seem like a non sequitur, but I’m convinced consumer culture and idiot culture are closely linked"
I disagree. It really depends on what you are consuming.
"And finally: protect the nerds"
Really? Nerds comprise most of the 1% in the US. It is pretty much the best time in history to be a Nerd. Startups in Silicon Valley are cool.
Odd, because I could swear that western countries still have the highest standard of living, best universities and most powerful militaries.