Confidence is usually confused with competence, and charisma with vision and direction. I've seen this enough that I've come to believe it's hard wired to some

Confidence is usually confused with competence, and charisma with vision and direction. I've seen this enough that I've come to believe it's hard wired to some extent, though it can be overridden rationally. Confidence and charisma seems to tell our so-called "reptile brain" that this is a big alpha that should be followed, and I strongly suspect that the effect also tends to down-regulate the rational mind in the same way that stress and fear do. I've experienced the "if they're in the room you agree with them" type of charisma more than once, and personally I always found it creepy and disturbing. Looking past superficial confidence and charisma is something that should be explicitly taught.