I end up mashing a bit on my fixie, of course, but on a geared bike, I figure that as long as I'm putting up with the hassle and lack of efficiency, that I might as well get my money's worth. If I'm too quick into my granny gears I'll lose speed, of course, but mashing isn't efficient. If I can tune my cadence to a good 80ish rpms at a high output then I can pass a masher on the hills. Of course, some people use hills as an opportunity to 'give up' and drop to their lowest gears, and those people get quickly passed by someone who is intent on climbing.

peace,
sam

PS. Screw ego, if I want to show off my big cahjones I'll just spin a 13t cog onto my fixie and sit outside the bike shop looking badass with a big blaring 52/13 staring everyone in the face. Then I'll try to ride away and injure myself.