Person1- he didn’t mean it as a put-down. Adraba, he was saying that it’s a maaleh to not be able to write since it shows that one is more Yeshivish and has been focusing on Kodesh and not on limudei chol.
Since a person has a limited amount of time and energy, theoretically the more time and energy one puts into one thing, the less he has for other things. Sometimes people tell stories illustrating the lack of general knowledge of Gedolim in order to illustrate their total dedication to Torah.
That is one legitimate way of looking at things, but I think there may be other ways, and some people will davka tell stories illustrating the vast knowledge of Gedolim. There is probably some truth to both approaches.