That is not a trait of "smart" people, that is a trait of "assholes." You need not be smart to be an asshole. You might find "smart" people are particularly well equipped to wage effective verbal arguments, which can be frustrating.<p>But some of the biggest prescriptivist assholes are incredibly stupid people. My favorite example is the Westboro Baptist Cult. These people actively eschew any kind of real education, history, science, or even causality. And yet they protest everyone's activities ceaselessly with offensive signs. Surely the WBC members think "they have carte blanche to dictate the correctness of other people's preferences." But are they "smart"? Surely not.