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There is also research pointing to this--including research proving that non-agreeableness (which is the same as meanness) correlates with increased salaries an

There is also research pointing to this--including research proving that non-agreeableness (which is the same as meanness) correlates with increased salaries and business success. So pg is just factually wrong. Pg seems to have some kind of fantasy that Jessica is a gifted psychologist. The truth is that she probably is when compared to other autism-spectrum programmers, but not when compared to professional cousellors or other people whose job it is to understand and empathize. What Jessica considers niceness--"niceness for the purpose of making money"--is not going to be the same as what most people consider niceness. The programming world scores high on the autism spectrum and on the psychopath spectrum. Compared to the rest of the world, programmers seem like very mean, cold, ruthless people.

brlewis 12y ago
Non-agreeableness is not the same as meanness. PG is sharing observations based on seeing hundreds of founders succeed or fail.
- douglasallen 12y ago
  >Non-agreeableness is not the same as meanness. You are wrong. Disagreeable individuals place self-interest above getting along with others. They are generally unconcerned with others' well-being, and therefore are unlikely to extend themselves for other people. Sometimes their skepticism about others' motives causes them to be suspicious, unfriendly, and uncooperative. People very low on agreeableness have a tendency to be manipulative in their social relationships. They are more likely to compete than to cooperate. Do you have any actual knowledge of the Big Five psychometric scales, or are you just saying that because you want it to be true? Disagreeableness is a scientifically validated and incontrovertible synonym for meanness. Agreeableness is a personality trait manifesting itself in individual behavioral characteristics that are perceived as kind, sympathetic, cooperative, warm and considerate. In contemporary personality psychology, agreeableness is one of the five major dimensions of personality structure, reflecting individual differences in cooperation and social harmony. People who score high on this dimension tend to believe that most people are honest, decent, and trustworthy. Agreeableness is a synonym for niceness.
  - brlewis 12y ago
    No, I don't have any knowledge of Big Five psychometric scales. I was going by the dictionary definition. And if I knew you were using a more technical term I would have looked it up, and still thought it was not the same as meanness: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits#Agreeableness http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits#Agr... The agreeableness trait reflects individual differences in general concern for social harmony. Agreeable individuals value getting along with others. This is absolutely not the opposite of meanness. If Wikipedia is incorrect, please edit it. Note that unlike a YC comment, a Wikipedia edit will require a real citation.
    - douglasallen 12y ago
      Those were copy-pastes so you can easily google what I wrote. Or just go read a book, textbook, or journal article on the big 5 system. Source: I'm a grad student in psychology. Specializing in empirically keyed personality psychometrics (i.e. psychology centered on data analytics. I also have a BS in CS. I'm basically a "data scientist" / statistician)

brlewis 12y ago

Non-agreeableness is not the same as meanness. PG is sharing observations based on seeing hundreds of founders succeed or fail.

douglasallen 12y ago
>Non-agreeableness is not the same as meanness. You are wrong. Disagreeable individuals place self-interest above getting along with others. They are generally unconcerned with others' well-being, and therefore are unlikely to extend themselves for other people. Sometimes their skepticism about others' motives causes them to be suspicious, unfriendly, and uncooperative. People very low on agreeableness have a tendency to be manipulative in their social relationships. They are more likely to compete than to cooperate. Do you have any actual knowledge of the Big Five psychometric scales, or are you just saying that because you want it to be true? Disagreeableness is a scientifically validated and incontrovertible synonym for meanness. Agreeableness is a personality trait manifesting itself in individual behavioral characteristics that are perceived as kind, sympathetic, cooperative, warm and considerate. In contemporary personality psychology, agreeableness is one of the five major dimensions of personality structure, reflecting individual differences in cooperation and social harmony. People who score high on this dimension tend to believe that most people are honest, decent, and trustworthy. Agreeableness is a synonym for niceness.
- brlewis 12y ago
  No, I don't have any knowledge of Big Five psychometric scales. I was going by the dictionary definition. And if I knew you were using a more technical term I would have looked it up, and still thought it was not the same as meanness: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits#Agreeableness http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits#Agr... The agreeableness trait reflects individual differences in general concern for social harmony. Agreeable individuals value getting along with others. This is absolutely not the opposite of meanness. If Wikipedia is incorrect, please edit it. Note that unlike a YC comment, a Wikipedia edit will require a real citation.
  - douglasallen 12y ago
    Those were copy-pastes so you can easily google what I wrote. Or just go read a book, textbook, or journal article on the big 5 system. Source: I'm a grad student in psychology. Specializing in empirically keyed personality psychometrics (i.e. psychology centered on data analytics. I also have a BS in CS. I'm basically a "data scientist" / statistician)