Ask HN: Rude Smart People Locked in a Room?

[diminium]

I'm curious. You know all those super smart people you didn't want to be apart of your team because they had personalities which was horrible to work with.

What would happen if you took a bunch of them, lock them up in a room, and told them they can't leave until they created something interesting? What would be the output?

[madoni]

I've been on a project like this-- they ganged up on me, got me kicked off the team and then turned on each other.

I went back 6 months later and the last 2 remaining guys had overengineered something that the customer hated but they were happy with, and they'd taken so long to do it there was no money left for any sort of frontend.

[shrughes]

It depends on how introspective they are. Some people with horrible personalities are able to think critically about things after the fact. It doesn't take a stubborn ego to have a bad personality. You could, for example, have a bunch of people insensitive about one another's ego (but secure enough not to care about their own).

[codegeek]

"had personalities which was horrible to work with."

Output will probably be 0. To create something good, you need to do it as a team. If they could not work with non-rude ppl, there is no guarantee they will get along with each other just because they are all alike (rude).

[diminium]

Has anyone tried it before?

[gamechangr]

Many companies have (sometimes without intending to) and it almost always ends really bad. You hope for a an agressive argument and an ultimatum( vs lawsuits)

[bjourne]

Some of the worlds best music albums were created in that way.

[bdunbar]

Either a last-man standing deal or they'd invent a practical faster-than-light motor and open up the galaxy.

Nothing in between.

[dear]

Maybe you would get a bunch of brilliant products each of which produced by an individual, working individually.

[deservingend]

A machine to escape from a locked room.

[iamds]

Java

[tudorw]

bloody