When I have dick measuring contests with intellectuals I tend to win. Maybe because I've read so much in so many fields & heard so many opinions whereas polarized/polarizing "intellectuals" generally harden their opinions in order to become known (to become famous you must have clear & easy to understand philosophies & agendas).
Of course I'm the one with the subjective measuring stick. Every author that changes my mind is only gonna to push it 1 or 2% in a particular direction. If I totally flipped my opinions after every "deep" book I read I'd be a pretty shallow person I'd say.