[GVIrish]

I think what you encountered is a different type of trap, the trap of the talented jerk. The guy/gal who is brilliant, so they're allowed to get away with a crappy and/or irrational attitude. Sometimes this works out well, but other times it'd be better to hire someone may not be of the same caliber skills-wise, but has a better attitude and is more pragmatic.

Your coworker might not have been a true "jerk" per se, but he certainly sounded irrational.