The Erudite Pedantic
“Pedantic vs. Erudite”
A Verbal Deconstruction
Pe·dan·tic /pəˈdan(t)ik/ adjective
of or like a pedant.
(a person who is excessively concerned with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning.)
"many of the essays are long, dense, and too pedantic to hold great appeal"
Similar: overscrupulous, scrupulous, precise, exact, over-exacting, Perfectionist
What does pedantic mean?
Pedantic is an insulting word used to describe someone who annoys others by correcting small errors, caring too much about minor details, or emphasizing their own expertise especially in some narrow or boring subject matter.
Is being pedantic a sign of autism?
Asperger syndrome (AS) is a pervasive developmental disorder recently introduced as a new diagnostic category in the ICD-10 and the DSM-IV. Along with motor clumsiness, pedantic speech has been proposed as a clinical feature of AS.
Is being pedantic a bad thing?
Being pedantic can be useful in the right circumstances. There's nothing wrong with someone who pays attention to detail or knows a lot of information about a certain field. They can prevent embarrassing errors or help make important decisions.
I provide the above observation and definitions courtesy of Google. It pains me to say, but I can be a lazy researcher at times. If this were pre-internet, I would have used Webster’s Dictionary, Thesaurus, Worldbook Encyclopedia, and the DSM (in which there was no diagnosis or criteria for Asperger's pre-DSM-IV)
If I may, I would like to offer an alternative, less derogatory term to pedantic. It was lovingly assigned to me by a very special person after reading one of my weekly essays. It’s like the positive, impressive adjective for those of us with “the thousand thoughts” who feel compelled to share….and sometimes over-share. Thank you, Charlie for dubbing my literary expressions and conversational contributions erudite. You helped build me up when others sought to crush me.
Er·u·dite /ˈer(y)əˌdīt/ adjective
having or showing great knowledge or learning.
"Ken could turn any conversation into an erudite discussion"
Similar: learned, scholarly, well educated, knowledgeable, well read
