Notpashut, thank you for giving me an honest (and respectful) answer. Now I at least understand where you are coming from and I can respect that you follow your rabbonim (although, I vehemently disagree with their conclusion).
I was always taught that the reason to be machmir was:
1) It was an area you were especially weak in and by being machmir you would eventually fall in line with actual halacha (finding the shvil hazahav)
2) It was an area you were worried about possibly transgressing, so you put up an extra layer of protection for yourself
As for MO philosophy – what you are talking about is Torah im Derech Eretz, Torah Umada is slightly different. Its hard to explain the nuances over the internet. Basically, science/secular knowledge is not forbidden, so long as you use it hand in hand with Torah knowledge/values.