[jsprinkles]

Your entire comment would be wise were it not for, both in the case of my anecdote and this original comment, the observation that someone is incorrect. It's one thing to enjoy intellectual pursuits, it's another to put down others, belittle them, or critique their opinions because of a perceived mistake they made (such as the geometry). It's doubly worse if the mistake has no bearing whatsoever on the actual opinion, like the finding and the opinion I was sharing in my anecdote.

Also, I like to think of myself as intellectually inclined, and I simply hate discussing and arguing minutia like this. It just doesn't matter, and my time is limited. I don't want to argue with you on what Dickens meant by a certain character's dialogue in David Copperfield, I'd just like to enjoy it as a great novel. (That is fairly specific, and there are instances where it's fun to think about, but in general it isn't.)

> Clearly you don't care about that topic, so that acknowledgement shouldn't cost you too much ego.

Not about my ego, oddly (most everything else is, but this isn't). It undermines the opinion or discussion at hand from everybody else's perspective, however subtly. It's an annoying opportunity to show off, as you say, like those people that get up at conferences and ask a question that shows off at the expense of everyone listening. Both are distractions from the topic and are a detriment to the conversation, regardless of their original purpose.

[ars]

> the observation that someone is incorrect ... to put down others, belittle them, or critique their opinions

I really don't think they are doing that. They understand that for the normal purpose he's right, they are just talking about mathematics, or general cases. At this point it's removed from the original, they are no longer talking about him (the Judge) they are talking about the concept in general.

> I like to think of myself as intellectually inclined

and

> and there are instances where it's fun to think about

There you go. There is no rule that says you have to enjoy talking about the same things as someone else. Each person likes their own stuff.

[larrys]

"it's another to put down others, belittle them, or critique their opinions because of a perceived mistake they made (such as the geometry)"

I would guess that people who are in certain professions which require precision would be more likely to act this way. Because lack of precision would cause the plane to crash or the bridge to fail or the code to croak. Medicine (drugs) for example is not really super precise when you think about it. Dosing isn't so critical that if you take a little more or a little less you end up dead or sick. You have latitude. (Of course someone who knows more than I about this would point out that coumadin (Warfarin) dosing is quite critical and correct me.)

Have you found that to be the case in your IRL conversations?

[jsprinkles]

No. Most of my conversations revolve around my career, and I'm a system administrator. Bike shedding I had already identified to be a problem. Pedantry like this I'm starting to notice as well.