There are many articles that should be dismissed, but when every time I click on the comments, I know somebody will be saying something negative about the article (and usually something fairly obvious and uninteresting), then I can't help but agree with PG that there is intellectual snobbery rather than real, interesting discussion happening.
You don't get many points for interesting. You get points for cynicism and negativity.
What I find interesting is that I often learn/gain or notice something from these middlebrow dismissal comments. I am not saying they are all good - but many here make legitimate, logical and scientific points. With the rise of blogging and other open/free channels of self publishing, these comments are often necessary rebuttals to the overhyped tones present in many articles.
Every dismissive comments not a "middlebrow" comment. There are some people here with some really great knowledge. I love the "highbrow" dismissals because that's when I learn something new.
You don't get many points for interesting. You get points for cynicism and negativity.