The ugly reality is that because of the actual mistakes the PL world (or even "academia" at large) makes, anything smelling of that world often is dismissed wit

The ugly reality is that because of the actual mistakes the PL world (or even "academia" at large) makes, anything smelling of that world often is dismissed without a second glance. Even when it has genuine merit. Tikhonj is right about this kind of "anti-intellectualism." But pro-intellectualism is a bias as well.