[russholmes]

Quite. Much of the cult status of Feynman was created by the man himself. He had several books written espousing his genius. As for his charm - salesmen are charming, psychopaths are charming. Charm is a 5 letter word for manipulative, as many of his colleagues wives discovered.

[jacobolus]

Your cynicism is off the charts.

Paying attention to people, listening to them carefully, answering questions and explaining things clearly, talking to them as equals instead of patronizing, etc. is not inherently “manipulative” or “psychopathic”.

[itronitron]

The book 'Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman' by James Gleick is very balanced. Anyone that has read Surely You're Joking should also read Genius before they start their career.

[CPLX]

Charming people are charming.

The word is just a shorthand for people who are able to express themselves in a way that puts other people at ease and engenders a positive emotional state.

It’s pretty much an unmitigated positive trait. Like any positive trait it can be paired with all sorts of other characteristics positive or negative.

But there’s really just nothing wrong with being charming, and no moral authority that derives from not being so.

[ptx]

Perhaps it's neither a positive nor a negative trait, but rather a power with which comes the responsibility to use it for positive purposes?