As a computer scientist, I've only encountered this once. My grad school advisor pointed the guy to me, who insisted on having phone conversations. He was interested in compiler technology; I suggested the Dragon Book, EOPL, and a few other of the usual suspects. He said, "Oh, that's all academic nonsense."
I don't think I ever properly thanked Mohammed for that...
That's the first time I heard about someone rejecting the theoretical basis of compilers on a conspiratorial basis, are you sure that person was rejecting your suggestions out of literally disbelieving in the theory, and not, for example, doing it from the "this 10-line regex is better than any fancy parsing technique out there" angle?
It just seems weird to me for somebody to know what a "compiler" is yet refuse to believe the fundamentals. Compilers are pretty niche, there is no glory or mainstream pop science around them.
I don't think I ever properly thanked Mohammed for that...