I think that C/C++ is much too high a level to look at and say "This if statement requires n logic gates" because that if statement will be implemented in assembly differently on different systems. However, one can look at assembly code and say "Ahah, that is 2 logic gates, and there's three more and that's another 3.". So I think you need to compile your code on a whole bunch of systems, compare the assembly, and use some kind of average of the results to get a rough estimate of how many logic gates.

Tens of thousands, perhaps millions of homes are already wired with it, all that cable... just sitting in the walls waiting for something to happen to it... F'rinstance, in my house we had a little project a few years back. We uprooted the phone jacks in all the rooms and replaced them with stereo jacks. Now every room in the house is wired to our computer in the living room, through several separate ports. Anybody can ssh in from anywhere in the house and play music directly to their room. Good, high quality music with no latency or buffer lag over the wifi.

I'm fine with boolean algebra and basic algebra, but it took me two tries to pass the advanced calculus course. So why do they push so much math at us? I heard once that it was to help develop thinking skills. But I'm not developing thinking skills solving simultaneous equations, I don't even understand what it is that I'm doing! My time can be better spent reading the linux kernel!

Instant turkey. Who has 6 hours to wait around anyway?

Oh, I'm not Dr. House arrogant. I just know that in certain fields I'm better trained and have more intuitive grasp of the issues than most people around me. When it comes to other things I know where I stand. I stand beside my wife, with a large circle of friends and recently got a promotion. Just because I know certain things, that in some fields I'm better than other people, doesn't mean I actually lord it over them.

I too noticed nerd arrogance in myself and my peers when I started at university. It bothered me a little bit. When I was done with university I went for a graduate somewhere else, and brought my nerd arrogance with me. But here, it was justified. The people around me were actual computer illiterates, despite being in technology-oriented environment and courses. It only got worse when I took a job as an IT gnome, and I REALLY started to see all the shenanigans the stupidity of some people can cause. Arrogance comes from thinking that you're better than people around you. Sometimes it's actually true.

Mageia 2 is using the newest KDE version, perhaps the most similar to Windows. It also has the excellent Mageia Control Centre (MCC) for managing all the systems settings. From install to daily use, the command line need never appear.