When "AI-enthused defense contractors with names out of Tolkien" are literally a genre I suspect that he chose that particular citation because he knew it would lead to a few amusing crashouts.

If I cannot "Read you" it is only logical that you cannot say that I am "Looking to play people". Sorry homie, I read that is acting like you are allowed to do something, and I am not. See how that works?

That's exactly the kind of people I avoid working with like the plague, because those are also the people who are looking to manipulate the whole work place. That's called a poisonous work environment.

I can correctly conclude by your writing, that you are a "rules for thee, but not for me" person. If I cannot analyze you by your words, yet. you can analyze me by mine, well, thee is a word for that - hypocrisy. By the way - I judge.

How do you know that a person who answers all your questions will be a good employee?

I learned that a long time ago, when I hired a guy who was more technically proficient than me. And he was great at convincing people his qualifications were great.

So we brought him onboard. He missed every deadline he was given - well sorta. I covered for him, until I was called into the Boss's office and given direct orders to not finish his work. His MO was me giving him a task, and he'd say "I'm going to get a soda - be right back, then disappear to visit his lady friends - who thought he was mostly an annoyance. Nothing overt, just a hanger-on. After the ladies complained, the powers that be were wondering how he could spend 5 or more hours a day and still get things done. Embarrassingly, I was an enabler.

All that talent, and very little drive. After I stopped finishing his work, it only took a few missed deadlines and he was gone. He's selling insurance now.

There were a few other bad hires, but I learned to make certain that tech chops were only one aspect of suitability for purpose.

8^)

Oh homie, know "thyself" is always a good touchstone. I was a lifelong learner before it became a buzzword. So I have the technical chops and keep them updated.

What is more "top notch" is more than technical skills. My University experience and inclusion in many different teams from different disciplines, and my curious nature have turned me into what many people consider a polymath. I'm that person who read the encyclopedia for entertainment when I was a kid.

Drive - I have drive that some consider close to pathological. Not everything about me is considered all that positive. I have to temper that.

Social skills - I know how to get along with people. A pity that more people don't. I have the ability to do high level mirroring as well. I can work with people across all social ranges.

I don't intimidate easily.

Am I perfect? Hell no. Not even close. I'm an asshole. Even my wife calls me an asshole, usually while laughing, and she isn't wrong. But I get shit done

Oh wow - that would not be a good situation at all.

You are correct there. In most cases, I'm using humor. But when I get serious, everyone knows to get cracking.

Yes that would be depressing. I would not work there. That's a toxic workplace.

Depends on what you mean by a requirement or not a requirement. As well, there surely are toxic and miserable places to work with leaders who are toxic. Rule by intimidation eventually fails.

One of the men on my team some years ago, had a thought process so different than mine that it seemed like we were destined to become enemies. After some initial head butting and me pulling his ass out of a fire, we figured out we could use those differences as synergy. Became actual friends.

The same with women. Different perspectives. And right now, the biggest issue in the workplace for women is the backfire from #metoo. Still going on. In irony, in mixed settings, the men are often a tad shy, or at least being so careful in what they say that you might have to seek them out later "What the hell were you talking about?"

I've had guys get flustered when they have to refer to male or female connectors with a woman present. 8^)

I have been around long enough to know what you are saying is absolutely correct.

Isn't much of the point here the cultural shove? Sure, there's the line-go-up stuff; but that doesn't explain the companies gutting quite profitable software development operations to shovel money at Nvidia for things that have no demonstrated ROI; if it were nothing personal, just business, the level of enthusiasm for taking on poorly characterized risk would not be as fervent as it is. It's absolutely about resentment of the human resources that has been running at least as long as the demonstration that it would actually take some shoving to get them all to come back to the office, likely significantly longer.

It's the significantly less common case, for some combination of a lot of high-visibility stupidity being lethal and lethal accidents being public in ways that the details of nonlethal accidents aren't; but destruction of gonads under sufficiently foolish circumstances qualifies a living recipient.

They already pretty much are. You have to do at least a little performative fretting about the risks, which spoils the enjoyment of pure cheering at the best crunching sounds; but there's no way we'd justify the level of recreational head trauma something like football produces if we didn't fundamentally regard the players as relevant only the the way racehorses are.

Especially if you hate that sort of thing. Your scare quotes around "networking show that. You do you homie. You see, I'm not saying that if you don't want to network, want to live in Eagle Pass Texas, or maybe a compound in Idaho, that's okay by me. Social skills and networking are not considered a deal breaker for many of us. I enjoy it.

I take it that you refuse to work anywhere unless it is 100 percent remote? There are a hella lot of jobs and careers that can't do remote only. Like mine. We tried, and it was a disaster because decisions must be mandated and implemented quickly. So I only do wrought half and half.

I retired at 55 making 6 figures - through smart planning, I make the same in retirement. I ended up getting a new job, a second career ten years ago. Why not? Pays well - exceptional perks, respect, and it isn't full time, so I can still take a lot of vacations, almost like free - My toys and hobbies are not cheap.

And this might sound like Heresy - I care about the people I work with. I enjoy seeing and interacting with them. I do not find work unpleasant. A lot of people utterly hate working, as if they want to spend a third of their life doing something else.

That is kinda sad, but a lot of people in here are like that.

Look at that privilege. If you are in leadership, you need social skills, and not your drinking and trying to make people like you.

Are their places where a person can be an utter prick, and treat co-workers and management like trash, making his statement that social skills are unneeded? No doubt - there are edge cases.

At my work, top notch technical skills are mandatory. So is the ability to get along with other and often stressed people. The people who washed out before me only had one or the other, and that doesn't work.

You do you, homie.

Your constructed worldview is a case, not a universal application.

But for someone who promotes them selves as knowing social skills are not needed, you are wrong. You would be the guy I tell to be quiet while the lady speaks, and If you can't do that, You'll be escorted out of the building by police.

And that's the thing. People with social skills and position often have a certain amount of power. What their skills teach them is to only use it at risk. Your idea that we are all sitting around sipping merlot, and trying to make other people like us is horribly specious. I'm not there to make friends, but to do a job. And the irony of all that is my social skills do make friends.

Your narrative would cause you to be terminated. Is it a dichotomy that I am friendly, sociable, and outgoing, but my peeps need to do as I say? Or that I wield power, but would hate to use it because I consider them my crew, and like most all of them? Granted, most anyone I would need to deal with is not part of my crew, but since I take responsibility - I have their backs.

That does sound like an individual case. I have no choice but to be onsite. My duties are time immediate. We even tried WFH full time once. That was a disaster, and a lesson learned. Think of it like launching a rocket, but every time something went really wrong, you had to call the flight director at home. tell him the problem, and he has to troubleshoot it from there. Meanwhile, the rocket performs an unplanned rapid disassembly.

Because it is not a digital situation. I have top notch technical skills in my area, and top notch social skills. And if your thesis is that only social skills are needed, you aren't paying attention, and yes, I'd notice your poor attitude in an interview.