I think the ‘hormone-fueled superiority’ has a lot to do with it. Let’s face it: school can be a ridiculous place filled with ridiculous people doing ridiculous things. It’s not a pleasant experience. One way to distance yourself from it is to affect the intellectual, critical-thinking radical persona. It also gives you something big, important, and out of your control to blame for your misery. You convince yourself you’re a critical thinker when what you really are is a contrarian. And you don’t really notice that all the members of your clique tend to have exactly the same ideas as you do and question them with exactly the same lack of precision and energy. Taking a stand is what’s important. Everybody should take a stand. As long as it’s not the same stand the stupid people take.
