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The only competent jerk I ever worked near (different part of a very multi-disciplinary org) probably wasn't that competent. That is, they had a habit of belittling other people's opinions and performances, but they were eventually fired for running a system outside of safe bounds, ultimately destroying some equipment and product. They were not as brilliant as they thought themselves to be, and eventually that disconnect caught up with them. It's only hubris if you're wrong.

I have known a lot of insufferable people who were the only person at the company who could do what they did, but they weren't brilliant, per se. They just focused on building a moat rather than building a community. And because of that, they never really progressed past the little niche they had made for themselves (and the organization didn't need them to, so it was fine). The brilliant asshole recognizes the utility of at least having other brilliant assholes around, and so invests at least some effort in baseline social grace.

I'd wager that there's something akin to the Dunning-Kruger "mount stupid" at work here. That is, your probability of being a jerk peaks at some slightly above-average level of competence, but tapers off as competence increases, because the confidence becomes justified. Confidence can be abrasive, but hubris is always caustic.



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