That could just be Socrates' (well, really Plato's) somewhat sophistic portrayal of them. The Sophists were a sort of combination of academics, scientists, phil

That could just be Socrates' (well, really Plato's) somewhat sophistic portrayal of them. The Sophists were a sort of combination of academics, scientists, philosophers, politicians, and lawyers. So they got a fair share of distain. I'm guessing that calling someone a "Sophist" was like calling them an "academic". Even people who are academics themselves will do it, to try and drum up a bit of street cred.