I think it’s a balance. You do need to be an asshole sometimes to get things done. But you don’t need to be an asshole all the time. It’s an easy excuse to say you need to be a prick because otherwise you cannot do your great achievements. It’s a false dichotomy. Even Einstein had friends.
I don't think OP was saying that, they were saying that anybody who's truly different enough to be "great" is also going to have downsides to those strengths.
It certainly does sound like shockley was way more of an asshole than necessary.
Prime example of how one can make (dubious) conclusions from a still frame.
It's why I don't do video calls with my coworkers.
It’s true, it’s so easy to tell yourself a story about how good/bad a person is based on how a photo supports your existing beliefs.
Hopefully by now everyone knows the "crazy feminist lady" picture, which was a still frame from a pretty normal conversation where she wasn't even really supporting the feminist side that much, but got spread around the Internet by anti-feminists for years.
The picture is great. The senior manager on the right has a bit of a grimace in realizing yet again he'll need to smooth over Shockley's antagonism. The guy on the left has more of a smile and nod, and everything will be okay, type attitude.
Re:Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory
by OldGuyInTheClub on Wednesday December 25, 2024 @01:16AM
(#42507216)
Shockley recruited/managed both. Bardeen (on the left) went on to win a second Nobel for explaining superconductivity.
Look at the picture, you can notice who's shockley by just observing their facial expression. The cold-and-smart-than-you shockley in the middle. Shockley's personality becomes his mortal enemy, but that personality is also ncessary for his achievement.
If strength cannot become your weakness, than it's just mediocrity.