> You need to be good but not too good you’re a threat.

For what it is worth; based on what I've seen in interviews. Programmers can only rank people who are close to their own level. If someone like Terry Davis of TempleOS fame shows up for an interview, should the interview declare them as a madman? a genius? both? If we need to build an OS, are his design choice eccentricities sly moves of genius or evidence of a diseased mind?

It isn't as much that strong programmers are a threat (that might be a factor) but more that big gaps in though lead to both productivity and inscrutability. And people avoid things they don't understand.