News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Jim Black's Steve Jobs Story by xenihn on Friday May 18, 2018 @01:25PM (#17103219)
Sure. People with certain personality disorders are extremely good at reading others, and convincing them to do what they want. Two common (and apt) terms I see thrown about are "social chameleon" and "reality distortion field".

You can also learn how to do it if you don't have one by studying those who do.

Regardless of how someone ends up with the ability, I don't think it's unfair to refer to it as genius, even if it's specifically based on emotional intelligence. They're just on a completely different level in comparison to the general population when it comes to bending others to their will and getting their way.

Re:Jim Black's Steve Jobs Story by philwelch on Friday May 18, 2018 @01:32PM (#17103288)
I've unfortunately been very close to people with cluster B personality disorders, and I think "savant" is a better term than "genius". In many cases, these people don't even realize how manipulative they are; it's just an unconscious reflex.