I am guessing that it might be boiled down to the difference between *asking* to have someone explain something to you, and having someone that is insecure about the size of their... intellect... try to tell you something you didn't ask to know. Some people with no social skills confuse talking *at* someone with actually having a conversation...

That said, it should be noted that this is not necessarily a matter of male privelege... my mother for example will go on to explain all about the Christian bible to me and how I am going to hell - without my asking for her opinion on the subject - despite the fact that I have five graduate degrees in Theology, and am fluent in the original languages the book was written in.

I think it is a matter of respect, and as soon as you go into an encounter with someone you have decided is your intellectual subordinate, you have already lost the game...