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MP's popularity among certain subpopulations is a function of the prelevance of daddy issues in the Bitcoin community. He and the members of his cult of personality are stuck in a mutually-destructive relationship that precludes their capabilities from living up to the hype.
I'd not argue against most of that, but one can meet success by being, through shit-house luck, on the right side of a fence.
Back around the turn of the year I read MP's stuff some. He's definitely a weird motherfucker, but definitely also very bright with a good grasp on many aspects of philosophical and engineering thought. If I had to guess I'd say that whatever success he has realized (and I suspect it is significantly puffed up) was not in the accident of fate category as much as it was a result of good analysis and execution. I'm as happy that he's on my side of the fence as I am that Gavin-the-clod is not. If the MP contingent is self-destructive it's just one more ball to keep an eye on as the ecosystem experiences a stress pulse.
I've barely interacted with MP, but I have had the opportunity to observe signifigant changes in behaviour among some people who have spent a lot of time doing so.
There are people who respond to his shtick for reasons independent of the quality of his analysis and display all the signs of co-dependence. It doesn't bode well for the future achievements of anyone involved.