In a thread on Cafe Society about the TV show House, there was a discussion about House being an asshole, but talented enough that the other characters forgave his behavior - far more than real human beings would.
So, is arrogance forgivable if you’re brilliant and talented enough? Or can one be enough of a jackass that no amount of talent makes your vile personality bearable?
Nope. If you’re successful at what you do enough times, people will put up with you, especially if what you do is considered prestigious.
Hell, some people will even accept the fact that you’re an asshole as part of the cost of doing business with a “genius”. It’s sad that some people almost expect a highly successful person to be a dick. The fact that they’re not almost makes us wonder what’s wrong with them or why they’re not “real”.
I would say no, too. Why would it be okay? Arrogance is a bad personality trait, no matter who it’s coming from.
Of course, you might have to put up with arrogant people every now and then…if I needed an operation and the best doctor was an arrogant ass – but a really, really good arrogant ass – I would still hire him for the job…but I probably wouldn’t give him a hug and invite him to a celebratory dinner, as I might for a very nice doctor.
I don’t think so; as I see it, arrogance by definition is having more attitude than you can back up. In other words, a claim is not arrogance if it’s true - but the other side of that is that if it’s arrogance, it’s not true. So arrogance can’t be “OK if you have the goods to back it up”, because then it’s not arrogance. Obnoxiousness perhaps, but that’s not the same thing.
If you are talking about a more general arrogant attitude rather than someone claiming specific abilities, that is bad because no one is right all the time. No one has “the goods to back it up” when it comes to a claim of general superiority.
If you’re as good as you think you are… it’s not arrogance.
I would disagree. I think it’s perfectly possible to have two people who are equally confident in their skills (and are correct in their assessment), and for one to be arrogant and the other merely self-confident. For that matter, I think you can have a person who has an inflated sense of their abilities, but is not arrogant – just vain or foolish. Arrogance, in my understanding of the word, has a specific element of haughtiness and disdain for others – some specifically negative quality that goes beyond mere self-confidence.
I tend to think of most types of arrogance as being a strong indicator that the individual actually lacks competance, rather than the other way around. Someone truly competant and confidant wouldn’t have the need to add the layers of bluster and social cutting behaviors that typify arrogant behavior.
Plus, I’ve never met anyone who comes across to me as arrogant who is even competent, much less exceptionally talented. Maybe if I hung around major athletes, neurosurgeons, and world-famous chefs more often I’d know someone who is both arrogant and had the goods.
Actually, I do hang out some with a world-famous chef, and he’s the antithesis of arrogant. He’ll knock himself down a peg and take the asshole in the room down with him in the process. He’s a real character who can get everybody rolling on the floor laughing.
In fiction, yes. In the TV show House, yes. Not in the real world.
House isn’t just arrogant because he knows he’s good; he’s arrogant because he knows everyone else is worse. In the TV universe this is always true. In the real world, no-one has that kind of information about every human being they encounter in the course of daily life, and to act as if you do is utterly intolerable.
The one thing that House gets right is that the titular characture is utterly, miserably alone.
Still an entertaining show though. 
Never. Humility is ten times (minimum) cooler than arrogance.
That dickwad, Gordon Ramsay, comes to mind.
This has been my experience as well. House gets away with being arrogant because he’s good, and he is very sexy, and he’s on a TV show. Social situations on TV shows play out differently than they do in real life.
A little bit of arrogance in someone who can back it up could potentially be attractive. Extreme arrogance is never so in any case. It’s been my experience, however, that most people who are arrogant also are full of hot air: i.e., aren’t half as good as they think they are.
(My experience = numerous blind dates in college 
)
Ok for what?
Professionally, if the losses caused by your arrogance (which, honestly, are probably not all that much) are outweighed by the profits from your talent, then you’re probably in no danger of losing your job.
If you’re talking about getting a date or having someone to hang out with on the weekends, the results are likely to be different. ‘Talent’ and ‘brilliance’ aren’t nearly as valuable in these situations as basic social graces.
No, because no matter how good you are at something, if you are not the best in the world, then there is someone better than you.
And even if you are the best in the world, you could still probably do better.
There’s a very fine line between confidence and arrogance.
It’s funny you bring this up, because I was thinking of starting a thread along the same lines. I used to have a very poor sense of self-esteem, but lately, I’ve been starting to feel pretty good about myself. I’m terrified of ever becoming arrogant, because IME arrogant people are close-minded, which usually means they’ll refuse to admit it when they’re wrong. I never want to be that person, because if you always think you’re right, chances are you’re going to fuck it up and someone’s going to get hurt.
‘‘I want to be positive about myself,’’ I tell my husband, ‘‘But I don’t want to become arrogant.’’ His response is to say that it’s almost humanly impossible for me to be arrogant. ‘‘Go for it. Hold nothing back. Full speed ahead. Trust me, just go wild and I’ll let you know if you start to become arrogant.’’
Thus I rang up my Aunt for advice and explained the frightening news that I’m beginning to think gasp good thoughts about myself. ‘‘Arrogance,’’ she said, ‘‘Is how you treat other people. Believing you’re capable of great things is fine, but if you regard and treat other people as if they aren’t as good or valuable, that’s arrogant.’’
‘‘I like that definition,’’ I said, ‘‘Because I don’t think I’m better than other people. I just want, for a change, not to feel worse than other people.’’
Thus my conclusion is there’s nothing wrong with self-confidence, but since arrogance specifically involves belittling others, it’s always wrong, no matter what a badass you are. I am not unsympathetic to House, but I’d have to punch him in the face on a pretty much daily basis if I worked with him.
To me, arrogance means you think you are a better person than the rest of the population, and implies ‘looking down’ at the rest of the population as being inferior.
So no, being extremely good (even best in your field) at one or even several things, doesn’t make you the number one person on the planet.
Barbra Streisand is one of the most arrogant people on the planet, but people put up with her because she is also one of the most talented people on the planet.
But there’s damn few people at her level.
From time to time I’ve been around some of the top people in Computer Science. Turing Award winners and such.
Some are nice people, some aren’t. I enjoy hanging out with the nice ones a lot more. I don’t see any reason why someone should be a jerk or allowed to get away with jerkish behavior.
The guy who did my Lasik surgery is one of the biggest assholes I ever met. But damn if I’m not 20/20. I sure wouldn’t want to work with him. I’d never invite him to dinner.