Assholes
by Aaron James · first published 2012
10mentions
1recommended by
2HN commenters
2012–2020first – last mentioned
50% recommend50% neutral
https://web.archive.org/web/20170202103911/http://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/assholes-a-theory/
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Poor article. Read "Assholes, a Theory"[1] for a serious look at the subject. This focuses on why society rewards assholes. That book makes the case that denial of reality and violating certain other social norms yields social advancement.…
on “Why the Assholes Are Winning: Money Trumps All” ↗Summary: "We commonly misinterpret displays of confidence as a sign of competence". See "Assholes, a Theory" (2014). Despite the title, this is a serious book and well worth reading. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Assholes-Theory-Aaron-James/dp/080417...
on “Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (2013)” ↗Recommended reading: "Assholes, A Theory".[1] A serious study of the rewards and effects of being an asshole. (I gave a copy of this to a friend who's an attorney for a major Silicon Valley law firm, and she found it explained some…
on “Does power really corrupt?” ↗Compare "Assholes, a theory", which is a serious book.[1] It could be subtitled "Why Sociopaths Get Ahead". [1] https://www.amazon.com/Assholes-Theory-Aaron-James/dp/080417...
on “A Theory of Jerks (2014)” ↗Recommended reading: "Assholes, a Theory", by Aaron James. This is a serious analysis of asshole behavior and why society rewards it. The latter is the key point. There are benefits to being an asshole in some organizations.
on “The vanishing civility: The game of jerks, bozos and assholes” ↗…trait, associated with door to door salesmen and such. Today, we have Donald Trump. "Attention seeking" and "asshole" are independent. Making your organization asshole-resistant can be worthwhile. Read "Assholes, A Theory", by Aaron James. There are people who want attention but aren't assholes; many actors are like that. There are assholes who don't want attention, just power - they're found in dysfunctional…
on “No more rock stars: how to stop abuse in tech communities” ↗Yes, unfortunately. See "Assholes, a Theory", by Aaron James, a serious book on this topic.
on “Who’s behind the “reopen” domain surge?” ↗This subject was covered recently in "Assholes, A Theory", by Aaron James. This is a serious study of assholes and why they rise to the top in certain types of organizations. It's not a joke. It's worth reading.
on “Is Homo Economicus a Psychopath?” ↗The other extreme is described in "Assholes, a Theory", by Aaron James. This is a serious book on organizational behavior. From a review: "James proposes a theory of assholes (a person is an asshole when his sense of entitlement makes him immune…
on “Learning to Deal with the Impostor Syndrome” ↗…cause us is negligible — because they refuse to recognize the moral reality of those around them." Out of curiosity, I searched for Aaron James and found the book whose title could not be mentioned: Assholes: A Theory.[1] From Amazon's review of the book: What does it mean for someone to be an asshole? The answer is not obvious, despite the fact that we are often personally stuck dealing with people for…
on “The Quiet Ones” ↗