Dad has such an attacking personality and I'm struggling...

[CarmenJonson]

I'm tired. 35 weeks pregnant, and spend a lot of time with my dad. He is the most intelligent person I know. He's a scientist and is extremely fun and interesting.

I'm struggling with him at the moment. When I say something that isn't right, or I've got something slightly wrong, or he disagrees with something I say, he doesn't explain kindly what I've got wrong, he basically says 'no, that's wrong!' in an aggressive tone and often tells me 'you're talking nonsense' or 'no, that's just stupid'

He doesn't realise he's doing it, but does it to me, my brothers and also did it do my mum when they were married.

How do I cope with someone like this? He genuinely doesn't see it and then gets in a strop because 'I'm being miserable' when actually he's just being extremely attacking in the way he's communicating with me.

Anyone else know someone like this? Too intelligent to argue with as they always make you sound wrong but not able to see how poorly they are communicating?

My exh was a bit like that, not because he was so much more intelligent that most people but because he was just aggressive and pushy, which is probably the case with your dad; being intelligent doesn't mean you feel you should have the right to make others feel less.

I learned with my exh, long after we had divorced, that the way to deal with his loud voice was to calmly tell him not to speak to me like that, that I'm not stupid and that I won't have a conversation with him until he can talk to me like a decent human being.

He eventually learned that every time he got overbearing I shut the conversation down. He's far more respectful now than he ever was when we were married.

Sorry, Op, bit he sounds like a rude and arrogant bully.
Is it just you and your family that he treats like this? Is he this rude to his peers or strangers?
Suggest you spend less time with him.