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Blah-Blah Bar / Re: CV and mad panic behaviour
Last post by Baggers -I think they can come across like that, but it's mostly a defence mechanism, particularly if they are late career scientists and engineers.
Maybe those who seem to be a touch on a spectrum, which is often more common than you might think, can have a very myopic approach being heavily focussed on one specific area, and that can leave others thinking they are dismissive or arrogant. It's more common than you might suspect, little eccentricities that annoy everyday folk.
On the issue of genuine arrogance, I find that it's very rare a good scientist is arrogant, in most cases the very good scientists doubt and question everything even their own work, which is actually the default scientific process.
I think I understand where you're coming from, Spotted One... so a point of clarification. When I use the word 'arrogant' pertaining to scientists/engineers/physicists and so on, I don't see it as a negative but rather a necessity for someone pursuing their goal provided it is often balanced with humility (but not so much you get walked over) and that humility often shows itself in questioning whatever they're doing and the way they're doing it, which you mention.
Right on the money when you bring in the 'spectrum' and how these folks may appear... their people skills are often not their strong suit. Not too many amazing scientific discoveries made by people who aren't/weren't bi-polar, Asperger... etc.