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There's a reason things like "How to Win Friends and Influence People" remain so popular. (Side note: the explanation is to become a more enjoyable person to ha

There's a reason things like "How to Win Friends and Influence People" remain so popular. (Side note: the explanation is to become a more enjoyable person to have around. It's not a collection of life hacks for exploiting others.) We've all worked with people who believe their code should speak for itself. Thing is, it doesn't. It never has. It never will. All collaboration work is a social process, and no matter how beautiful someone's output is, if they're an asshole no one wants to be in the room with, their magnum opus will rot in a neglected PR. Charisma is not sufficient by itself. You've still gotta have chops, or at least a willingness to work to get them. But charisma+chops will take you much farther than skill alone.

megaloblasto 2y ago
I think linus torvalds is an example that would disprove your theory here. He's not likeable, yet his work speaks for itself. Similarly, Steve Wozniak isn't considered charismatic, yet no one denies his code.
- kulahan 2y ago
  You’re reinforcing his point without realizing it. There are a few uncharismatic people across the planet who are so unreasonably unrivaled in their combination of intelligence, drive, and luck that they are accepted despite their social shortcomings. Though as I understand it, Woz is quite kind, and while Torvalds is blunt, he often is charismatic, as he easily convinces others that his path is correct (if he actually believes it is).
- kstrauser 2y ago
  I disagree. Linus seems plenty likable, although he's blunt in his assessments of what he considers bad ideas. Those can coexist. And I've never heard anything but good about Woz. He seems like a genuinely nice, enthusiastic, approachable person. I've never met either of them in person so I can't personally vouch for their charisma, but I don't think of them have reputations as _not_ having it.
- AStonesThrow 2y ago
  It's not for nothing that Free Open Source Software projects enjoy the tongue-in-cheek term "Benevolent Dictator For Life". And Theo de Raadt is an earlier example of how to sow discord in an OS project, fork it, and remake the codebase [OpenBSD] for a distinctive market sector, while retaining that distasteful arrogance that drew the attention of the community. https://www.openbsd.org/goals.html https://www.openbsd.org/goals.html [Now with "politics-free" as a design goal!]

megaloblasto 2y ago

I think linus torvalds is an example that would disprove your theory here. He's not likeable, yet his work speaks for itself. Similarly, Steve Wozniak isn't considered charismatic, yet no one denies his code.

kulahan 2y ago
You’re reinforcing his point without realizing it. There are a few uncharismatic people across the planet who are so unreasonably unrivaled in their combination of intelligence, drive, and luck that they are accepted despite their social shortcomings. Though as I understand it, Woz is quite kind, and while Torvalds is blunt, he often is charismatic, as he easily convinces others that his path is correct (if he actually believes it is).
kstrauser 2y ago
I disagree. Linus seems plenty likable, although he's blunt in his assessments of what he considers bad ideas. Those can coexist. And I've never heard anything but good about Woz. He seems like a genuinely nice, enthusiastic, approachable person. I've never met either of them in person so I can't personally vouch for their charisma, but I don't think of them have reputations as _not_ having it.
AStonesThrow 2y ago
It's not for nothing that Free Open Source Software projects enjoy the tongue-in-cheek term "Benevolent Dictator For Life". And Theo de Raadt is an earlier example of how to sow discord in an OS project, fork it, and remake the codebase [OpenBSD] for a distinctive market sector, while retaining that distasteful arrogance that drew the attention of the community. https://www.openbsd.org/goals.html https://www.openbsd.org/goals.html [Now with "politics-free" as a design goal!]