Nature (nature)

Superficial - on the surface, shallow, dull. Although years of seeking the teacher's favor by intentionally trying to ask insightful questions had worked in his favor, his new professor was unimpressed, dismissing all three of his questions as superficial tangents, unrelated to the important questions being discussed. Ostentatious - flaunting, trying to impress. Everyone around understood that it was an ostentatious display of wealth, but they enjoyed it nonetheless.