Why is there so much elitism in software development?

I’ve been developing software as a hobby and professionally most of my life (I’m 30) and one thing that seems consistent is the elitism.

It’s all over Reddit, it’s on stackoverflow, I’ve seen it at work (although it’s more veiled by professionalism) and I just don’t understand it.

When a new programmer does something, like creates a library or a small side project or asks something hacky on stackoverflow or whatever, they are always met with a barrage of chin strokers who do nothing but bitch. Sometimes it can be brutal as well.

There’s nothing wrong with offering constructive advice/criticism but most of the time it’s just pure ego driven bitchiness.

Maybe I am biased but this kind of behaviour seems more prevalent in software than anywhere else. Why is it that programmers are so precious about doing things their way, when the whole industry is constantly changing and rapidly evolving.

The mentality is more akin to religious devotion than engineering.