Why know-it-alls keep annoying us – and what they can still teach us
From Socrates to mansplainers: the history of the know-it-all
The colleague who simply has to correct every tiny detail, the guest who can’t stop talking about themselves, and the online pedant who always needs to explain how things ‘really’ are. Few people manage to irritate us as quickly as the know-it-all. In his research, cultural historian Arnoud Visser found that know-it-alls have always been among us – as has the resentment they provoke. But what is it about them that annoys us so deeply, sometimes even more than those who are actually corrupt or cruel?
The uncomfortable truth?
From classical satire about smug philosophers to populist attacks on elitist academics, scholarly know-it-alls have been a source of irritation in Western culture for centuries, says Visser. “Whether it’s Socrates and the sophists of his time, pretentious savantes of the Enlightenment, or modern-day mansplainers on social media – knowledge is power, but flaunting it too blatantly or aggressively tends to rub people the wrong way.”
Know-it-alls themselves, of course, believe they know exactly why they provoke such irritation, Visser says. “They like to see annoyance as proof that they’re right: the truth, after all, is often uncomfortable. Socrates, for instance, compared himself to a gadfly, stinging society awake with his sharp questions, while the sixteenth-century writer Aretino adopted ‘truth breeds hatred’ as his personal motto.”
People’s irritation is often not about the content of ideas, but about behaviour.
“More recently, the Palestinian-American thinker Edward Said argued that the true intellectual should ruffle feathers and provoke discomfort. They see resistance as something positive, even rational. That may be convenient for them, but it doesn’t exactly take their critics seriously.”
Pedantic behaviour
Visser offers a different perspective. He studied a range of sources from antiquity to the present, including comedies, satires, essays, sermons, newspapers, and films, that mock pompous scholars. “People’s irritation is often not about the content of ideas,” he explains, “but about behaviour.”
“Across these sources, a kind of ‘cultural script’ emerges – a set of unwritten rules and expectations, about how people with knowledge are supposed to behave, or rather, how they shouldn’t. Common recurring faults include using obscure language and jargon, nit-picking, and the urge to correct others. Complex language can come across as arrogance, for example, or even deception. And the constant need to criticise or correct others is often read as dominance or aggression.”
A mirror of society
Criticism of know-it-alls reflects broader social hierarchies, Visser points out. “In earlier times, we mostly see mockery from above, with those in power trying to keep critical intellectuals in their place. From the modern era onwards, you also find more satire from below, portraying learned know-it-alls as part of an oppressive elite.”
It’s fascinating to see how old stereotypes survive despite all social changes.
The long-evolving script remains very much alive today and continues to be applied to today’s agendas, Visser notes. “It’s fascinating to see how old stereotypes survive despite all social changes. Even in modern films, you still find caricatures that go back centuries, such as the pedantic professor or the socially awkward, sexless scholar.”
Understanding social tensions
According to Visser, it’s important to understand this history. “Especially in times of populism and polarisation,” he says. “The history of the know-it-all helps us grasp where the wider distrust of intellectuals comes from, and how it has been expressed for centuries.”
“We sometimes get so caught up in the present that we lose sight of the bigger picture. Looking through a historical lens makes it easier to see when and why certain intellectuals or scholars provoke irritation. Focusing on the figure of the know-it-all helps reveal the social, religious, and economic motives behind the resistance to intellectuals. And even the most irritating know-it-alls can still teach us something. And, honestly, they’re often rather entertaining historical figures.”
About On Pedantry
In On Pedantry: A Cultural History of the Know-It-All, Visser explores the history of the know-it-all. The book gives a lively and engaging cultural history of one of humanity’s most exasperating intellectual vices.