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I have a problem with Nassim Taleb. On the one hand I think he has been a colossal jerk to many good people who don't deserve it. On the other hand he keeps dro

I have a problem with Nassim Taleb. On the one hand I think he has been a colossal jerk to many good people who don't deserve it. On the other hand he keeps dropping pearls of wisdom that I value highly. If I were an employer I wouldn't want an employee with his level of toxicity laying waste to morale. But it could be exactly that kind of employee who could make the company profitable with the power of one brain. So I'd go with a default policy of no brilliant jerks, but be willing to override it for some values of brilliant and jerk.

kaybe 6y ago
If the jerk is brilliant enough maybe you can buffer it somehow and include it in the structures, eg a dedicated jerk handler etc.
- seanmcdirmid 6y ago
  That is what is called a 10x people manager, and they are even more rare than 10x engineers. Not to mention they tend to get promoted too quickly to stay in jerk handling roles for very long.
afthonos 6y ago
Exactly!! I can’t stand his smug, self-satisfied style, and yet he has some of the most insightful thoughts around. One day, maybe I’ll grind my teeth through one of his books.
KKKKkkkk1 6y ago
It's very difficult for me to separate the brilliant from the jerk in Taleb's writing. When he says "you can't make that inference because the distribution has a fat tail and you're a dumb fuck" I can't tell whether the sentiment embedded in this statement is clouding his judgement. So ultimately all the drama surrounding the brilliant jerk makes him far less useful than you might initially think.
- sn41 6y ago
  I sometimes wish I have the presence of mind to add the dry remark -"I agree that that's your opinion." The one time I was able to actually pull it off, it deflated the jerk.
troughway 6y ago
>colossal jerk Can you give examples? In the case of Jobs and Gates, they were both in charge of many people and hence many people's paycheques depended on their whims. Taleb's twitter rants are, by comparison, a lone voice pounding sand in the middle of nowhere. I could be wrong, it could be that Taleb is in charge of some hedge fund and he fires people for whatever reasons.
dependenttypes 6y ago
Just give them a dedicated space to work alone or with people that tolerate them without bothering others.

kaybe 6y ago

If the jerk is brilliant enough maybe you can buffer it somehow and include it in the structures, eg a dedicated jerk handler etc.

seanmcdirmid 6y ago
That is what is called a 10x people manager, and they are even more rare than 10x engineers. Not to mention they tend to get promoted too quickly to stay in jerk handling roles for very long.

afthonos 6y ago

Exactly!! I can’t stand his smug, self-satisfied style, and yet he has some of the most insightful thoughts around. One day, maybe I’ll grind my teeth through one of his books.

KKKKkkkk1 6y ago

It's very difficult for me to separate the brilliant from the jerk in Taleb's writing. When he says "you can't make that inference because the distribution has a fat tail and you're a dumb fuck" I can't tell whether the sentiment embedded in this statement is clouding his judgement. So ultimately all the drama surrounding the brilliant jerk makes him far less useful than you might initially think.

sn41 6y ago
I sometimes wish I have the presence of mind to add the dry remark -"I agree that that's your opinion." The one time I was able to actually pull it off, it deflated the jerk.

troughway 6y ago

>colossal jerk Can you give examples? In the case of Jobs and Gates, they were both in charge of many people and hence many people's paycheques depended on their whims. Taleb's twitter rants are, by comparison, a lone voice pounding sand in the middle of nowhere. I could be wrong, it could be that Taleb is in charge of some hedge fund and he fires people for whatever reasons.

dependenttypes 6y ago

Just give them a dedicated space to work alone or with people that tolerate them without bothering others.