Wow JayDee tell us how you really feel! At least no one will bother to get angry at my comments now
If this person is actually a Ph.D student at Brown in neuroscience then I feel for (a) the poor profs that end up on his advisory committee (b) the reviewers of manuscripts he submits (c) his ego when he submits written qualifying exams, thesis proposals, manuscripts, and dissertation drafts.
The truth of the matter is that academic success in scientific disciplines is more about communication skills (technical writing and public speaking) than it is about technical ability. Everyone can do research in the lab given the motivation and interest. If you can't write a cover letter or have journal articles published in high quality journals though you'll never find a job in the ivory towers.