Reconciling models with observation is where it's at, yo. Increasingly, the only way to be competitive in physics nowadays is having the ability to do theory/modeling with at least one toe in the realm of experimentalism. And I definitely used to be somewhat arrogant, but between grad school and wunderkind Devac, here, well, that's over. Besides, many of the most "respected" people in their fields are miserable people. All too often, the arrogance you might perceive is just a disguise for an intense self-loathing. At least I'm upfront about how much I hate myself, which I think can be somewhat healthy.It's not that everyone is stupid - it's that they come to worship the model more than what they're modeling. I would argue that this weakness can also afflict physicists.