No offense, but you mean compliments and almond.

This is not about being an intellectual. It's about reading good writing, if you want to, reacting by forming opinions, if you want to, and participating in a conversation, if you want to. There's plenty of room for disagreement, if and when it occurs, without insult.

If I were you, I would ignore what he says. As he pointed out, he doesn't even care about this issue. He just likes to hear himself talk, or read his own writing.