> For Steve Jobs, it's not that being an asshole was his secret sauce. It's that his unique position allowed him to survive the downsides of his personality.
[0]: https://idiallo.com/blog/you-cant-be-an-asshole-as-a-manager
I'd argue that brutal honesty is a good thing. So many people try to be agreeable, but don't people stop to think what they themselves think of agreeable people? Generally they seem fake or insincere. When an asshole tells you 'That's an interesting idea.' they mean it. What an agreeable person says it they might mean it or they might mean 'Wow, that's one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard.' So it makes their opinions, or even discussion with them, rather pointless. And broad agreeability can also make a person seem quite daft.
Being agreeable is what leads to design by committee. And being agreeable gets you out of being called an asshole.
Obviously he has defenders and fans for various reasons, but I think its nice to see.
Nothing about social media is friendly to looking past social skill issues.