I’ve been watching the HBO series Silicon Valley. I find it enjoyable on many levels.

Being a nerd back in the old days, I instantly recognize the archetypes in Silicon Valley. I believe the entire Aspergers spectrum is sufficiently represented. So to me, the characters are like old friends I once knew.

Back in the 1980s, my nerd friends and I would get together and socialize. We would have the same pointless discussions, debates, and heated arguments I now see on the show. Of course, the time frame has changed. The Internet was just a baby back then and no one knew its potential.

The focus for nerds back in the 1980s was on coding utilities. I believe just about every programmer I knew was working on some clever tool that did something useful — something we probably wouldn’t consider worthy today, such as formatting a list of files or writing a text editor that runs “in only 4K of RAM.”

Today, the nerds are all about apps.

In Silicon Valley, the big deal is pitching some new app. In fact, it’s a running gag. They pitch mobile apps on Silicon Valley to break the flow and add humor. If you watched the TV series House, then the app pitches on Silicon Valley are similar to those moments when Dr. House would work the clinic; it’s just for the yucks.

The apps pitched on the show are hilariously pointless. In some cases, the characters point out the silliness. For example, a programmer who quit and now works at a Staples-like office supply store has an app that helps you find your car in a parking lot. The way it works is just like a notepad app. The main character mentions this fact, but the programmer doesn’t understand how his app is meaningless.

Apps are pitched that help you borrow a dog, but not just any dog, but a dog with a Christian owner. Or the app that actually gets funded that simply sends the text “Bro” to someone else with the same app. This is based on a real app called “Yo” that does the same thing.

I believe this app pitching is more than parody: It’s a sad commentary on a culture that tries desperately to make big money in app development. I’m sure I’d find just as many pointless, useless, hopeless apps available at the Google Play Store — if I had the time to waste searching for them.

Then again, you never know which app will hit it big and make someone a billion dollars. So in a way, the parody of pitching apps in Silicon Valley is funny, disappointing, and sad all at the same time. All we can do is watch the show and laugh.