Do "Highly Educated" and "Impatient-Disrespectful" traits manifest themselves together more than not in humans?

I don’t think so. Assholes come from all kinds of backgrounds.

“Impatient-Disrespectful” is a manifestation of overblown ego. I’m not convinced that there’s a strong correlation between education and ego, though. Someone with a powerful ego will tend to trumpet whatever advantage he feels he has, whether it’s money, position, looks or education. But that doesn’t mean that it’s the education that inflates the ego.

Someone who knows how to keep their ego in check will, I think, go through higher education without becoming pompous or intolerant. But someone who’s seeking the degree just to use in his arsenal of weapons of superiority, well…

Nope. I’ve met many a schmuck. Some educated, some not.

It’s all about an inflated sense of self worth or importance with people who are often impatient and/or disrespectful.

@pekenoe: Are you a grad student? If so, I know exactly what you mean. (But, I think the two are mutually exclusive, despite the exorbitant amounts of people I run into in academia that fit that description.)

Intelligent people are generally more dismissive in attitude. Then again, as cprevite noted, I’ve known folks from all walks who’d benefit from charm school. I don’t hang around with those folks. bums me out

Psychologists distinguish between a “big” ego and a “strong” ego. (Everyone has an ego.)
Someone with a strong ego, a strong sense of self, a lot of internal security, will not need to put other people down. Pomposity not required.
A person who’s got a lot of knowledge, as opposed to wisdom, but hasn’t got much self-confidence, as opposed to received information, will trumpet his or her acquired knowledge around because that’s all they’re proud of. That’s a weak ego. Weak but overblown. Big.

I’ve met lots of stupid, uneducated people who are @$$holes so I don’t believe that’s really a true statement.

@Les Not a grad student, I’m an uneducated smuck from the boonies.

Not to stir the pot…I don’t think education is the key factor here. However, I do think highly intelligent people may be more impatient with others. Not disrespectful exactly, just in a sort of ‘tapping-my-foot-waiting-for-you-to-catch-up’ kind of way. Obviously that isn’t true of every highly intelligent individual, but I’ve seen it enough to be aware of it.

No. I have two graduate degrees and I am generally a polite and patient person.

I’m not always impatient and/or disrespectful.
I just don’t respond well to statements like:
Aids doesn’t need a cure, it’s totally preventable.

And, no, I don’t think it’s related to education.

@Nimis You are maybe familiar with Google search and are able to use it? Type in “aids preventable” if you can or read this, from:

Commemoration of World AIDS Day 2008

Opening Remarks by
Ursula Schäfer-Preuss
Vice President, Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development
Asian Development Bank
Yet, despite the progress, HIV/AIDS remains to be a significant challenge for the region. The latest global epidemic update, released by UNAIDS during the XVII International AIDS Conference held in Mexico City in August of this year, indicates that: some 380,000 people have been newly infected in 2007, with a total of 5 million people now living with the virus. The UNAIDS estimates that 380,000 people died from AIDS in 2007. The Commission on AIDS in Asia released its report earlier this year, highlighting the characteristics of the epidemics in our region which are much driven by: (i) unprotected paid sex; (ii) sharing of contaminated needles and syringes among injecting drug users; and (iii) unprotected sex between men. The Commission’s Report stresses the need for responses that focus on those groups that are most-at-risk of getting infected with HIV and likely to transmit the virus to others.

Although there are a number of important facts and policy actions which all of us need to understand, there is one important fact that we should all remember; that is, HIV/AIDS is preventable. As I have stressed during last year’s World AIDS Day, it is in our best socio-economic interest to invest additional resources to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. The country ownership is important, and development partners need to work together to ensure that the necessary resources are available.

I see no further need to discuss this, especially with you.

I’m for AIDS prevention as well.
That isn’t to say that I’m against finding a cure.
Nor does it mean that I have no sympathy for those who have it either.

To be fair, I do realize that the whole Prevention vs. Treatment
has been a heated point of debate for the science community.

I just had a difficult time taking your comments seriously with such gems like:

I got herpes from my mother, from kissing me as a babe. I didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter…The children [with HIV/AIDS] acquire the disease through their parents [who] chose to infect their children with a disease that kills, that is unforgivable. The parents had a choice, they chose, the children pay.

To say the parents chose to infect their children is like saying your mom gave you herpes on purpose. You’d think being in your situation, you’d actually be able to sympathize with these children.

Sadly, not true.

@Nimis when mother gave me the virus, she was unaware of it’s potential, herpes was not correctly diagnosed nor widespread knowledge of it until 1963 I believe. Basically, she was an innocent.

Is passing on the AIDS virus to your child or passing the virus along through sex the act of an innocent ? A very high percentage of the parents knew they had the virus but through either ignorance of a give a damn attitude they passed it on. Does that deserve my attitude, damn right. Anyone that would do that does not deserve anything, much less my sympathy.

The expense of AIDS money that is spent on idiots who self inflict could be much better spent on other more deserving cases. There never will be a cure, we tried, we failed. Lets get a cure for cancer or heart disease or at least spend a little on herpes. Why do we continue to spend on an AIDS cure? Political. Squeaky wheel mentality.

Do I feel for the children, YES. I never said that I didn’t. I feel for any innocent in this mess and those feelings are what drives my disdain for those who knowingly pass this thing on.