> One of them is the desire to be seen as clever. Manifestations of this might include developing abstruse lines of argument, with feigned earnestness, for pos

> One of them is the desire to be seen as clever. Manifestations of this might include developing abstruse lines of argument, with feigned earnestness, for positions one does not really take seriously and one’s readers are not likely to take seriously either; the use of logical symbolism and other technical apparatus in cases where it is not necessary in order to make one’s point; a predilection for one-upmanship and argumentativeness; and, in general, a tendency to treat intellectual life as a kind of game or mental onanism. If their blog post isn't self-ironic on purpose, then it is at least accidentally. I would definitely categorize the writing above as an excellent example on how someone might choose to word their opinion or thoughts in a manner that is seen as intellectual. The whole post reeked of this mental intellectual onanism.