That might not be pretending. I heard that interview with Ms. Bialik, and she came out and said that she’s the only actor on the show who really does “get” the nerd-culture aspects that are portrayed.
Has the show ever mentioned why Sheldon doesn’t drive?
I like Sheldon, although I wouldn’t want to live with him. I would want to be able to get away from him. 
He’s like Data with an ego. He’s always defining his terms or establishing the rules of something, and I tend to be like that myself. When somebody has to talk him down from something (like Bernadette telling him why he has to get some sleep), it’s like an experiment: what do you have to say or do to get him to respond in the way that you want? But he’s honest and direct and plays by the rules, even if he can be childish.
But they have to work on getting him to say “please” and “thank you” more often!
I just hate to see these guys wasting so much money on comic books and all that plastic junk. They could be saving that money or giving it to charity or something.
Sheldon doesn’t drive because he can’t. He’s tried to learn, but the skill eludes him. He sucks at MarioKart, ended up on the roof of a mall in a driving simulator, and got a three-point ticket when forced to drive Penny to the hospital.
Spending money on comic books and trinkets is not wasting money.
She gets to be the queen bee, and they feed her ego. What I don’t get, is why, after knowing her for a while, they still want her around? Yeah, I get that she has a nice body. But she’s also stupid, and stupid people are boring. Howard did much better in getting Bernadette, who is smarter and is a scientist herself.
Though in some episodes Penny is smarter, and more capable of learning, than in others.
I also never got why Joey on Friends was supposed to be so sexy. Stupidity is the biggest turn-off.
Even with all that they spend there, the comic book store seems to be barely staying in business. Stuart is almost a charity.
I can tolerate the annoying parts of a Sheldon personality far better than other varieties of annoying. I can relate to him a bit, I guess, minus the genius part.
I came late to this series, only having started to watch it in the last week or two. It’s the first series to make me laugh out loud heartily in a long time. This very morning I was watching the one where Penny was introduced to online gaming and is becoming addicted. I had to leave halfway through the episode because it was time for work and I can’t wait to get home to finish it.
BTW, the laugh-out-loud part was when Leonard entered her online game as his avatar (huge, muscular and macho - har) and tried to reason with her, but got his head sliced off.
Penny isn’t stupid. She at worst ignorant, having gotten by on her looks for so long, but she’s sharp as a tack and quick thinking. Her expertise is social interactions, not science.
Good episode. Later in the episode, she encounters Howard inside the game for another amusing moment.
And Joey and Phoebe would’ve been boning each other blind.
Yeah, Penny is stupid only by comparison with the other main characters. As sitcom characters as a whole go, she’s on the smart side of average.
Sheldon has a big mental blind spot when it comes to his abilities. This manifests itself in various ways. Either he thinks he can just be because he read (or could read) a book about it. Or that it’s beneath him and therefore doesn’t need to learn it.
E.g., he claimed he could swim but only practiced on the floor of the apartment. That was good enough for him. He can avoid proving he can swim. But he can’t avoid proving that he can drive. So he does mental gymnastics to explain why he doesn’t need to. (As opposed to admitting that he can’t.) The show over time has been pushing him to towards admitting that he can’t.
As to why he can’t drive, I think one of the key reasons is that it requires him to think outside of himself. About the motion of the car, the actions of other drivers, etc. These are difficult for a person with his mental condition. But I don’t think this is explicitly mentioned.
My roommate in college (30 years ago) never learned to drive, and when I re-connected with him recently, I found out he still doesn’t drive. This was a guy who was very smart, and not too socially awkward, but he was just terrified of driving.
Just watch the episode where Sheldon has to drive Penny to the ER - he struggles to process all the steps required to drive (checking all the mirrors, seatbelt, traffic lights, etc.). For an OCD person like Sheldon, that might simply be too many sensory inputs to handle.
Perhaps Leonard and Sheldon are still paying off student loans?
nm
Between the four of them they have 2 cars and a motor scooter. Compared to what guys spend on their cars they are actually quite thrifty.
Which I missed because the DVR stopped recording a minute or two before the end! What happened?
There’s definitely a reason for why he doesn’t drive…
It’s been explicitly mentioned that he’s scared shitless being behind the wheel of a car.
Because they need a 4th for Halo night?
Howard’s avatar asks her if she wants to have sex, and she agrees…
Which is when she rips of her headphones, closes the laptop, and realizes she’s WAY addicted to the game.
Cued up for you (this video has all the inside-the-game scenes): http://youtu.be/wQVGNW6zfdY?t=5m54s