That is the essence of science: ask an impertinent question and you are on the way to a pertinent answer.
One must not make oneself cheap here - that is a cardinal point - or else one is done. Whoever is most impertinent has the best chance.
I won't say there aren't any Harvard graduates who have never asserted a superior attitude. But they have done so to our great embarrassment and in no way represent the Harvard I know.