Zaitcev: Nothing is as it seems at Burning Man. My guess is that the ticket-holders were trying to figure out whether you were a redneck or a parody of a redneck. Their question would not have distinguished either of those from a parody of a parody, or indeed (as may be the case?) from all three at the same time; but maybe they were just hoping you would say something inadvertently hilarious. (Most likely they really were hitting on you.)

rufius: It really does take all kinds; there's nothing wrong with doing science instead of coding. I was just pointing out that the CS curriculum (like the maths) is geared to teaching what you need to know to be a scientist (somebody who finds things out), not an engineer (who makes things that work). If you want the latter, you'll need to learn from people who do it. About politics... not voting is equivalent to voting for whomever you find most repellent. Also, there are lots of local races where your vote certainly counts (presuming the machine hasn't been jimmied to count the reverse; you aren't in Kentucky or Ohio, are you?). You can make a much bigger difference than voting by adding your voice at (boring) local meetings, and a much, much bigger difference by volunteering to do the work. Local party committees are full of easily swayed busybodies, so anybody with some taste and intelligence will cannot help but change the mix for the better.