really, as a 'know-it-all' myself, i can tell you that it is mostly a defense mechanism against unexpected trauma. maybe that is social trauma, which makes sense to me, since so many of the posters have used such nasty terms to describe people who are essentially suffering greatly.

i am exploring the proposition that we only notice the defects in others that we hide in ourselves. likely that means i'm a bigot too. let's all try to improve ?