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Unfortunately, I have seen this happen way too many times. I sometimes wonder, if that is a defensive technique to hide one's own insecurity.

• somethingsimple 10y ago
  The coworker in question has some very childish traits. I find it hard he would feel insecure though, since he is definitely very smart and delivers good work. I'm not one to say I'm smarter than him or even as smart as him, but I am fairly confident in the quality of my work (boosted by positive feedback from good developers I've worked with and look up to). That's why it bothers me that he has this attitude towards me. Initially I ascribed the somewhat rude way he acts to a psychological trait (I'm positive the guy has Asperger's), but then I started noticing it was more targeted at me.
  • dont_throwaway 10y ago
    I had a very similar experience at the beginning of my career. Due to inexperience, I tolerated it for several months. It took more than that after I changed environment in order to come back to normal. The damage that person did to me was huge. I managed to recover only thanks to very strong social support from some friends I had since university. Even though we were not talking about the issue, doing other (kind of extreme though) activities helped me. Looking back, tolerating this behaviour was a disservice to both me and the company I was working at. I lost many things professionally because of that. Do not make the same mistake. The guy might be super clever, super efficient and very knowledgeable. That does not give him the right, though, to destroy people's lives. And if you tolerate this, keep in mind that there will be also others in your position later. Btw, the description you provide matches pretty closely the guy I knew. Super smart, Asperger's and I was his victim. Before me, there was another person who was holding him in very high esteem but was also forced to resign, partly because of the unsupportive environment.