> While that is noble, what isn't is their arrogance and stubborn belief in their own correctness
While a lot of very cutting-edge physics is just mathematical theory without experimental proof, another whole lot of it do have enough experimental proof to be considered correct and complete under the right point of view.
> that everyone else is a bumbling idiot.
But that's exactly the issue :-) ! Well, not really, but how hard can it be? Let's do an example. I'm one of those people who doesn't understand quantum mechanics, so I'll do a search. The first result is a page in Wikipedia, which is heavy with historical fluff but it links to the right places under "Mathematical Formulation". Right in the page it mentions and links to Hilbert spaces, and to all other needed mathematical concepts. If I were to become an armchair quantum physicist, it would take me a few minutes to understand it's all about the math. My next steps would be to buy a $1 paper notebook and a $2 pen, and start my journey. I'm sure that with a little digging, textbooks on quantum mechanics can be found for free. Will it take years for my understanding to advance from point A to point B? Very likely.
There is one thing however that I see causes severe issues over the place: people won't do math. It is not just about quantum-physics, but also stuff as mundane as compound interest or investment risk. The amount of missed opportunities and well-being for the dislike of math is astounding. Maybe, as a society, we should do better in that area.