They pride themselves in being several steps ahead. Their Pride blind them to the fact that he is meakly centuries ahead. These things can be known openly, and it will not serve them, because they can not achieve the levels their nobody can, but that is something they themselves can't accept as to the understandings of because they themselves wish to think of themselves as greatest.

They are babies in the woods and refuse to understand that. The reason all this is being allowed is Judgement, that being another thing they fail to accept. They are walking into their own traps.

That is defensive.