Are you an intellectual elitist?

[Zoth]

I've found this post around the web after watching a video, and it describes nicely a bit of what it means being an intellectual elitist (to me at least): I am an intellectual elitist. Are you? I admit it. I don’t necessarily view this as having any negative connotation, although I am sure others will argue with that. I think the perpetual search for enlightenment and truth in life is the worthiest pursuit, and I see the intellectuals as driving the train on this journey. I grew up surrounded by intellectuals on my father’s side, both grandparents and my aunt have PhDs in various fields, the uncles all have graduate degrees in engineering. My eyes fill with admiration for their achievements, although at times, I know they were lacking in the warm fuzzy department, [Not my grandparents - they were the sweetest]. I have a difficult time accepting what I perceive to be the intellectual apathy of others. The aggregate ignorance of most Americans annoys me a lot, especially when I interact with foreigners who know more about American history than the average Joe. I am definitely on this forum to interact with other like-minded people because of this. The people on this forum expand my knowledge and challenge me to think deeply and not sigh in exasperation. I have been teased because of this, my intellectual elitism, because I’ll bring Ayn Rand to a day at the beach while everyone else is reading the latest Oprah book club hit [no offense to Oprah; I think it’s GREAT that she encourages people to read]. My point is that people tend to stick to what is fashionable and not what will enlighten them and challenge their brain. Negative examples of when my intellectual elitism flares is when I am in a conversation with someone and I realize that everything coming out of their mouth is unfounded personal opinion not based on any fact or scientific basis/study. I take pride in explaining things I have read or studied. Sometimes in different areas of the forum where people really need to bring their A-game [philosophy for instance], I can tell that someone is really not very well-read and it causes me to smirk. I know it’s horrible, but I am a bit of an intellectual snob. I can’t help it. This of course isn’t a great way to win friends and influence people. I am gradually learning that it’s okay to leave people to their own ideas; it envelops them in ignorant bliss. I realized I relate a lot to this person's behavior and opinions regarding intellectual apathy. I also think that intellectual elitism is not necessarily bad, unless you insert what you'd call arrogance towards other people's thinking, but my respect grows tenfold to people who are able to put experience aside, their own personal view of the world, and engage in exploration, and engage in conversations with that type of mindset (and not merely in the basis of "I experienced this"). What about you, would you qualify as an intellectual elitist? Tell us your experiences and your behavior/opinion towards people expressing intellectual apathy