Who do you respect, and why?
swombat: I respect only one thing: competence.In fact, that breaks down into 3 things: competence, knowledge, and experience, but only because the last two are often indicators of the first, so it would be unwise to dismiss them.Achievements are a symptom of competence, so I do respect people who have achieved what I consider great things.However, even where someone is knowledgeable, experienced, and having apparently achieved great things, if they display something which indicates a severe lack of competence, my respect for them will automatically decrease - not to zero, of course, but still, it can take a severe hit.