Re: why academia has opinionated...
I guess I’ve been lucky to not bump into the breed of academics that you mention Dush… but I have come across ones who seem pretentious and arrogant at least on the outset… with the way they treat those around them… its as if they get sadistic pleasure out of their power trips.
That being said, I don’t think this can be generalized to academia… it happens in the corporate world all the time with cut throat workplace competition and conflict among coworkers etc. – in academia, you can take the same notion of competition to the next level as research professionals are not only competing for funds, grants and recognition internally but also externally against others across the region, nation or the globe.
A lot of teaching professors also develop a deliberate distance with their students in order to mark their turf when it comes to professional matters surrounding administration. I’ve personally experienced situations where friendliness and affability get mistaken for something else and often times students take the kindness for granted.
I suppose it’s the nature of work – dealing with people… working on your own research… competing with peers around the world... affecting and effecting futures of students that makes academics seem a little austere and perhaps authoritarian. I maintain though these traits however are not always accompanied by attributes such as arrogance and conceitedness.