Yeah, this is pretty much it in a nutshell. An asshole who's brilliantly talented in some field can do well in that field, because their talent makes them valua

Yeah, this is pretty much it in a nutshell. An asshole who's brilliantly talented in some field can do well in that field, because their talent makes them valuable even if their personality drives people away. There are plenty of jerks out there who aren't particularly talented at whatever their chosen field or profession is, but you don't hear about them because they don't become famous or (in a lot of cases), get hired at all. It reminds me of this quote from The Simpsons: >Aide: Sir, I'm afraid you've gone mad with power. >Russ Cargill: Of course I have! Have you ever tried going mad without power? It's boring. Nobody listens to you. Same deal with jerks and success. A talented jerk will get listened to and became famous in spite of their toxic personality, an untalented one will go ignored and quickly get forgotten about.