Something that has always bothered me...
During the nerd party scene right before the Alpha-Betas crash it, Poindexter ponders a question: "...would you rather live in the ascendancy of a civilization or during its decline?"
I was a cognizant child when this movie first hit the theaters. I remember thinking to myself that I am currently living in the ascendancy of the United States. It was the 80's for Christ's sake! I figured the decline of the United States wouldn't be for a few hundred years.
Wow, the state of the US sure has changed since the 1980's. I now feel as if I am living in the decline of the United States! And this wasn't even supposed to happen for a few hundred years.
Poindexter couldn't contemplate someone living in both the ascendancy AND decline of a civilization. But that's exactly my situation.