There's a fundamental human need to feel better than others.

It's not always a bad thing, as it is used as a carrot to bond teams and push for excellence (Think "Semper Fi").

But it is quite grating. The main thing that gets me, is when folks being superior either withhold information, or deliberately try to interfere with my learning.

On StackOverflow, I have almost twice as many questions as I have answers. This doesn't really get me any respect.

But boy oh boy, have I learned a lot.