History PlayingWith / InsufferableGenius

** Carnegie thought he never had to develop a sense of humility or social skills as a result of growing up gifted.

** Carnegie is diagnosed with {{narcissis|t}}m.

** Carnegie's an ass, but his colleagues [[WorldOfJerkass aren't any better if not just as horrible]].

** Carnegie is brilliant but has crippling self-esteem problems stemming from the constant mockery of his peers. In times of crisis, however, he is forced to offer solutions even though he's afraid to even speak.[[note]]This can lead to a double subversion when he finally gets praise and recognition for his talents and doesn't know how to handle it properly.[[/note]]

** Carnegie is socially awkward and puts up psychological barriers to protect his demand for autonomy. He is also aggressive in debate. Many mistake that for arrogance but those close to him know him as a GentlemanAndAScholar [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold underneath his shell]].

** One of the writers was just fired for pervasive personality issues despite being one of the best on the team, and Carnegie's character is heavily based off of them as something of a TakeThat.

** Despite full awareness of his genius, Carnegie believes an over-inflated ego is not only completely unnecessary on top of being a red flag he needs to seek help, but it would only be a massive detriment to the progress of the project as well as overall company morale. He realizes, though he provides most of the major solutions, he alone can't finish the project and needs everyone doing their part to make it work. Plus, he himself hates toxic, narcissistic people and doesn't want to be anything like them.

* '''Conversed''': "I'm giving my notice. I've had it. I just can't with Carnegie any more. Working with him makes me want to shoot myself, and the company has made it clear that he's way too valuable to fire or even discipline." "Damn, you finally did it, huh?" "Yup. After many discussions with my boss and many, ''many'' forwarded emails and single-spaced pages of documentation of interactions where he was a massive douche, it's become clear that there's nothing he can do that will make them stop trying to appease him, especially since his go-to response to any sort of potential discipline is to present offer letters from competitors and ask them how much they're willing to lose. He's the golden goose who laid the eggs and then took a big fat shit all over everything, and I am so, so, ''so'' tired of it all." "This is why, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, you're better off hiring the decent candidate who is a nice person than hiring the rock star candidate who is a nightmare to deal with as a person. No amount of skill is worth the morale drain these people bring."

*** Everyone hates him ''so much'' that when someone [[GentlemanAndAScholar just as smart but more pleasant]] than him shows up, they immediately fire Carnegie on the spot while berating him for how much of an asshole he is.

** Carnegie is so difficult to work with that projects that he is involved with take significantly longer and cost far more than industry standard, as people constantly leave his projects to the point where contractors typically need to be brought in, but the company is still blinded by his ability and the fact that the final results typically are of high quality and can't seem to recognize how much he costs it in time, money, and morale.

** After being fired so often for his personality, Carnegie is effectively unemployable because none of his old colleagues are willing to give him a reference for his new job, word has spread around the industry that he's a nightmare to work with, and he's pissed off enough former clients and vendors that going freelance or starting his own business are not viable options. The only options he has now for money are dysfunctional businesses that can't afford to pay him anywhere near what he was making, or unstable startups run by people who have zero experience running a business that are likely doomed to failure.

** The interview process for an extremely skilled position involves a large panel interview with people from numerous departments, and focuses more on culture and attitude-related questions than is typical for an interview for that position, which are so suspiciously specific that they are clearly based on past experiences.

'''Basic Trope''': [[TheSmartGuy An intelligent character]] is [[{{Jerkass}} self-absorbed.]]
* '''Straight''': Carnegie, the TeenGenius, [[{{Jerkass}} is arrogant to everyone he meets]] and insults their intelligence at regular intervals. However, he's so smart that in times of crisis, they have no choice but to turn to him.
* '''Exaggerated''':

** However, he's really insulting them on a higher level than they can understand, laughing behind their backs.
** Carnegie make a show of being NiceToTheWaiter. However he is really so arrogant that he cannot believe himself to be arrogant; because having a flaw would imply that he cannot control himself.

* '''Parodied''': Whenever anyone comes to Carnegie with a problem they need help solving, he insults them for several hours. When they finally get fed up and start to walk away, he says, "Wait! Don't go! Here's the solution!"

* '''Enforced''': "Let's have TheSmartGuy be a real asshole to everyone! That's how it works in real life, right?"

* '''Discussed''': "Dammit, I wish there was someone else who could fix our problems. I hate going to that jackass for help."
** "Uh, Carnegie? Um, yes, I did work with him, but I'm also honestly shocked that he put me down as a reference, but I'm also kinda not shocked. In all honesty, he is a brilliant man and I can't take that away from him, but he was also incredibly difficult to work with at best and seemed to resent having to work with anyone for any reason, and I seriously wonder if he's capable of giving constructive feedback or honest critiques of other people's work that aren't just an excuse for him to belittle, berate, mock, and generally remind people how stupid they are compared to him. The reason why I say I'm not shocked that he put me down is because he's also so self-absorbed and narcissistic that he probably does think that everyone else sees him as a god among men who is not to be questioned, only worshiped. In short, yeah, if you want a truthful evaluation of Carnegie from a coworker's perspective, I think you'll find that what I'm saying right now is what everyone else in my position would say."
* '''Conversed''': "I'm giving my notice. I've had it. I just can't with Carnegie any more. Working with him makes me want to shoot myself, and the company has made it clear that he's way too valuable to fire or even discipline." "Damn, you finally did it, huh?" "Yup. After many discussions with my boss and many, ''many'' forwarded emails and single-spaced pages of documentation of interactions where he was a massive douche, it's become clear that there's nothing he can do that will make them stop trying to appease him, especially since his go-to response to any sort of potential discipline is to present offer letters from competitors and ask them how much they're willing to lose. He's the golden goose who laid the eggs and then took a big fat shit all over everything, and I am so, so, ''so'' tired of it all." "This is why, 99 times out of 100, you're better off hiring the decent candidate who is a nice person than hiring the rockstar candidate who is a nightmare to deal with as a person. No amount of skill is worth the morale drain these people bring."

** Everyone that works with him hates Carnegie -- he may be smart, but he's too much of an asshole to deal with.

** Carnegie has historically been shielded from the consequences of his extreme rudeness and contemptful hostility towards others because he is an incredibly high performer, but after he angers a major client to the point where the company loses their shirt renegotiating a deal with them just so they won't leave, Carnegie is finally and unceremoniously kicked to the curb.

** Everyone that works with him admits that Carnegie may be an asshole, but he's still one of the smartest guys around.

* '''Played For Horror''': Carnegie is TheSociopath and people insulting his genius in any way, shape or form is his (quite lethal) BerserkButton. Considering how much of a dick he is, this is a button that gets pushed ''very'' often, [[TheScottishTrope even when people know bad things will happen if it does]].
* '''Implied''':

** Carnegie and Bob are the last candidates standing for a highly-skilled position, and while Bob's abilities and body of work are much less impressive than Carnegie's, he is chosen because he is easier to work with and a much nicer person.
** Bob leaves a negative Glassdoor review of his former job that specifically refers to issues with "golden children" and "cultures that aid, abet, reward, and shield toxic high performers from any sort of consequence".
** Carnegie leaves a negative Glassdoor review of his former job that complains of "tall poppy syndrome" and decries a culture that "rewards mediocrity" and "does not tolerate anyone who threatens the status quo or highlights performance disparities".
** The interview process for an extremely skilled position involves a large panel interview with people from numerous departments, and focuses more on culture and attitude-related questions than is typical for an interview for that position, which are also suspiciously specific to the point that they are clearly based on past experiences.