Its not enough to be right, try not being a jerk, too

[Cain]

http://www.nationalinterest.org/Article.aspx?id=21034

In looking at the people who have been proven right in recent years, there is another possibility—what if the people who actually were right also happened to be a**holes?

Lest you think this sounds harsh, consider Michael Lewis' excellent Portfolio essay on how the subprime-mortgage market bubble expanded and popped. One of Lewis' heroes is Steve Eisman, a hedge-fund analyst. In Lewis' account, Eisman derisively laughs in the face of the CEO of Moody's, mocking that firm's ratings of mortgage bonds. Later, at the speech of another CEO, he stood up in the audience and told him that he had grossly underestimated the default risk on his mortgages. He then said, "Excuse me, I need to take this call," as his cell phone went off. Eisman was right—but he was also unbelievably obnoxious about it.

This is a familiar theme when it comes to prescient predictors. Scott Ritter loudly and repeatedly insisted that Saddam Hussein did not have any WMD program in the run-up to the second Gulf War. It is impossible, however, to read this November 2002 New York Times Magazine story about Ritter without concluding that Ritter is a raving egomaniac.

[LMNO]

Taleb fits this characterization, too.

[Jenne]

Huh, just boils down to 1) people skills on the part of the speaker and 2) judgment and discernment on the part of the listener.

[Cain]

LMNO: I thought that too

Jenne: common sense is not that common

[Cainad (dec.)]

Doesn't this pretty much contradict the entirety of The Church of the SubGenius?

Not an objection, just a thought.

[Jenne]

Jenne: common sense is not that common

Yeah, now THAT is for tr00f.

[Jenne]

Doesn't this pretty much contradict the entirety of The Church of the SubGenius?

Not an objection, just a thought.

Hm.  The entirety?

[Cainad (dec.)]

Good point. It's too damn huge for anything to contradict the entirety of it.

Cainad,
Still hasn't read the whole book

[AFK]

You should.  It's great. 

[Jasper]

Wasn't one of Greene's 48 Laws against offending the wrong person?  It seems to apply here.

[Cainad (dec.)]

Wasn't one of Greene's 48 Laws against offending the wrong person?  It seems to apply here.

I just checked; #1 is a variation on this. "Never outshine the master"

[Jasper]

Wasn't one of Greene's 48 Laws against offending the wrong person?  It seems to apply here.

I just checked; #1 is a variation on this. "Never outshine the master"

I mean #19. 

[Tempest Virago]

The sad thing is if you're an asshole about it you're actually making people less likely to believe you, because people have a kneejerk reaction not to listen to people who are condescending douchebags to them. It might even make them less likely to believe other people who agree with you.

[Cramulus]

Hmmm... 48 laws of power...

being a dick about being right (arguably) violates these laws of power:

Law 5 - So Much Depends on Reputation – Guard it with your Life

Law 19 - Know Who You're Dealing with – Do Not Offend the Wrong Person

Law 26 - Keep Your Hands Clean

Law 47 - Do not go Past the Mark you Aimed for; In Victory, Learn when to Stop


but is (arguably) supported by these laws:

Law 6 - Court Attention at all Cost

Law 21 - Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker – Seem Dumber than your Mark

Law 28 - Enter Action with Boldness

Law 37 - Create Compelling Spectacles



this one could go either way:

Law 39 - Stir up Waters to Catch Fish - Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive.  You must always stay calm and objective.  But if you can make your enemies angry while staying calm yourself, you gain a decided advantage.  Put your enemies off-balance: Find the chink in their vanity through which you can rattle them and you hold the strings.

[Kai]

Hmmm... 48 laws of power...

being a dick about being right (arguably) violates these laws of power:

Law 5 - So Much Depends on Reputation – Guard it with your Life

Law 19 - Know Who You're Dealing with – Do Not Offend the Wrong Person

Law 26 - Keep Your Hands Clean

Law 47 - Do not go Past the Mark you Aimed for; In Victory, Learn when to Stop


but is (arguably) supported by these laws:

Law 6 - Court Attention at all Cost

Law 21 - Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker – Seem Dumber than your Mark

Law 28 - Enter Action with Boldness

Law 37 - Create Compelling Spectacles



this one could go either way:

Law 39 - Stir up Waters to Catch Fish - Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive.  You must always stay calm and objective.  But if you can make your enemies angry while staying calm yourself, you gain a decided advantage.  Put your enemies off-balance: Find the chink in their vanity through which you can rattle them and you hold the strings.

6, 21, 28,  37, and 39 are only good if they do not violate 5, 19, 26 and 47, ESPECIALLY 5. Most of the others had reversals but Greene was clear that 5 has NO reversal. Reputation is the most important rule of power.