>The budding asshole has learned, perhaps subconsciously, that other people interrupt them less if they use stronger language. But there should be some underly

>The budding asshole has learned, perhaps subconsciously, that other people interrupt them less if they use stronger language. But there should be some underlying reason why stronger language warrants more airtime. I have another hypothesis why assholes seem smart. Sometimes I catch some error that people around me spread. But I can't quite articulate it at first. Then it reappears and becomes somekind of norm. At this point I get frustrated. Then something happens which to me shows how fucked up things have gone. I finally articulate what I felt was wrong. Also all that bottled up frustration surfaces. This is probably when I appear most "smart", because well thought out stuff goes public suddenly. It has actually nothing to do with how smart I actually am. It's just that certain assholiness and talking smart stuff happens at the same time. Extrapolate and people who are assholes all the time seem inherently smart. We are herd animals. Teams competing with teams is usually perceived as empowering. Individuals competing with individuals is usually perceived as grueling. Assholes are not the problem, they are a symptom.