I think it depends a lot on the situation/field/etc. I am an academic and I regularly submit papers and grant proposals for peer review. When I get mostly negative comments back from a reviewer, it makes me very frustrated. I appreciate it if they recognize what is good and what needs work and provide feedback on both.

I’ll do as I please, thank you. Good day.

The sentiment was toward the author of this article. You don’t seem to be aware of the problem. This might help: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/09/sci…

So how would you convey the same content in a non-condescending way?

While it is understandable that you cannot quantify it, I was hoping you could qualify it. For example, was it the tone or the content that you found condescending?

How so?

Scientists generally don’t use the word theory that way. Theories are well supported by many data. For example gravity and evolution. This idea would be better described as an hypothesis or model.