I have noticed for some time that Beta NFs often exhibit a need to portray themselves as cultured, intellectual, and mathematically/logically adept.
How is this explained in terms of Socionics? Is it that these particular traits are viewed by society as important aspects of power and prestige? If so, is this basically a manifestation of the absence of their duals?
My personal view toward intellectualism, etc., is that most of the kind of information that intellectuals absorb (esoteric literature and miscellaneous trivia about art and architecture) isn't actually useful in any practical way, and that the time it takes to learn all of it would be better spent mastering key career skills. It seems like you could spend several lifetimes trying to craft a hyper-intellectual persona, and unless you know for certain that you will be in positions where it is important to be seen as knowledgeable about these intellectual topics, it would be a more productive use of time to limit such learning to either useful things or things that you are genuinely interested in.
For example, I have several books on things like language, history, mythology, war, science, physics, and I've even got a big fat Shakespeare. But though I find most of that stuff very interesting, I only read it when I've not got school reading or when I'm not reading some bullshit about economics. I don't really care if someone start quoting Wordsworth and I can't identify it, because it has nothing to do with me or my core interests.
So is this how a Beta ST might direct a Beta NF into putting more focus into their subconscious ST power questing?