I think intelligence is hardly the problem. It is something far more intangible that perhaps should be called 'wisdom'.
Your statement sounds a bit hard to believe, though. If you had met one physics PhD who was 'completely immersed in perpetual motion engine cult' I would say that this could be true. But 'not so few' really stretches credibilty.
I think you are both correct. For the frequency of such interactions here is a simple experiment (that I know to work): Follow a couple of hand picked accounts on Twitter. Over time Twitter will suggest who to follow, follow these accounts as well. Within the next 2 months or so, your Twitter feed will almost completely fill up with that cult. It feels like a completely different world, it's scary.
The cold fusion clowns go around TED events, collect research grants, and VC investments though they withdrew the only paper they published for a glaring arithmetics "mistake."
Your statement sounds a bit hard to believe, though. If you had met one physics PhD who was 'completely immersed in perpetual motion engine cult' I would say that this could be true. But 'not so few' really stretches credibilty.