2 ms·

Not directly related to the content of the article, but... There are jerks everywhere, and there always will be. Like diseases, tornadoes and mosquitoes, they

Not directly related to the content of the article, but... There are jerks everywhere, and there always will be. Like diseases, tornadoes and mosquitoes, they are part of life. I think our energy is better spent creating an env that empowers nice people and encourage them to defend themselves. An env that calls out bad behavior. It's way more durable.

akudha 6y ago
Society has mostly tolerated jerks - Bill Gates was a jerk during his Microsoft days, Steve Jobs too, etc. Hollywood has a long list of jerks, bordering on criminal level behavior. Somehow they were (are) tolerated by society, many people even believe one needs to be a jerk at certain levels to succeed. If a junior person on a team is a jerk, he'll be called out quickly vs a boss who is a jerk. Like everything in life, one can get away with a lot of bad behavior if they are high up in the food chain.
- Mirioron 6y ago
  I think society tolerates jerks because they feel that the jerk creates more value than they take away.
  - tspiteri 6y ago
    Yeah, and then there are some jerks that think that by throwing a hissy fit in a meeting they're the next Steve Jobs. Well, they're not. Jerks.
- golemotron 6y ago
  Society tolerates jerks for the same reason jerks tolerate society. They both get something from the exchange.
- thu2111 6y ago
  Er, was Bill Gates a jerk? How are we defining it? He was aggressive towards his competitors, certainly, perhaps too much. His decisions around the web were perhaps "jerk-like". But normally this word means he was nasty to other people he worked with. There are mixed stories about that. A lot of them boil down to him being a boss who simply expected good results and made his expectations clear. If you look at CEOs of successful companies there are always lots of people ready to describe them as jerks. Mostly when asked to back that up, you get stories where they were just firm with people about what level of performance was required - the sort of thing any CEO needs to do.

akudha 6y ago

Society has mostly tolerated jerks - Bill Gates was a jerk during his Microsoft days, Steve Jobs too, etc. Hollywood has a long list of jerks, bordering on criminal level behavior. Somehow they were (are) tolerated by society, many people even believe one needs to be a jerk at certain levels to succeed. If a junior person on a team is a jerk, he'll be called out quickly vs a boss who is a jerk. Like everything in life, one can get away with a lot of bad behavior if they are high up in the food chain.

Mirioron 6y ago
I think society tolerates jerks because they feel that the jerk creates more value than they take away.
- tspiteri 6y ago
  Yeah, and then there are some jerks that think that by throwing a hissy fit in a meeting they're the next Steve Jobs. Well, they're not. Jerks.
golemotron 6y ago
Society tolerates jerks for the same reason jerks tolerate society. They both get something from the exchange.
thu2111 6y ago
Er, was Bill Gates a jerk? How are we defining it? He was aggressive towards his competitors, certainly, perhaps too much. His decisions around the web were perhaps "jerk-like". But normally this word means he was nasty to other people he worked with. There are mixed stories about that. A lot of them boil down to him being a boss who simply expected good results and made his expectations clear. If you look at CEOs of successful companies there are always lots of people ready to describe them as jerks. Mostly when asked to back that up, you get stories where they were just firm with people about what level of performance was required - the sort of thing any CEO needs to do.