Scott Alexander

It seems to be true in politics also.

I myself feel this hunger to be authentic all the time.

I think it has something to do with the difficulty children have in putting negativity in context.

They can't distinguish between a parent having a bad day and venting or having an existential crisis.

So the 50s guy was half right.

You don't have to love your boss in your heart of hearts, but careful what you say to your kids.

End quote.

Ferrell Finster writes, quote, here quoting Scott, This is the basic engine of Dilbert.

Everyone is rewarded in exact inverse proportion to their virtue.

Dilbert and Alice are brilliant and hardworking, so they get crumbs.

Wally is brilliant but lazy, so he at least enjoys a fool's paradise of endless coffee and donuts while his co-workers clean up his messes.

The PHB is neither smart nor industrious, so he is forever on top, reaping the rewards of everyone else's toil.

Dogbert, an inveterate scammer with passing resemblance to various trickster deities, makes out best of all.

Now the commenter replies, End quote.

and that's a link to a Venkatesh Rao post.

Scott replies, yeah, it's interesting to compare Rao and Adams.

Rao formulated his Gervais principle, which is what the post is, as a specific response to Adams' Dilbert principle, which I guess means Rao thought Adams got it wrong.

Did he?

The pointy-haired boss seems to go back and forth between clueless and sociopath, which is probably why Rao thought Adams' work fell short.

Dogbert is clearly sociopath, but has no permanent role in the corporation, and doesn't really represent a real thing you can be.