The fault lies at the feet of TV sitcom Friends. Each character fits into a neat archetype and Dr. Ross Gellar was no exception. He was supposed to be the intellectual one. He had a PhD. He works in a museum. He is a scientist. But he is never portrayed as an insular ‘nerd’; he has an active social life and enjoys sports. He’s not condescending like Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory (Although Sheldon cannot help this due to his neurodivergence)

But when he remotely suggests to his supposed-pals that they might do something cultural for a change they don’t just politely decline the invitation but actively mock him for having an interest in something other than hanging out in a coffee shop. Due to Friends’ cultural impact this attitude quickly spread.

If we look a but further back at the previous example we can see that Dr. Frasier Crane might be better educated and well off than his friends at Cheers but he never acts like a snob and, bar the odd prank at the beginning he is just treated as ‘one of the guys’.