X Marks the Spot :

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There are regular folks, and then there are the rock stars in the room -- people with the magnetism of Oprah, the charm of Audrey Hepburn and the bubbly joie de vivre of SpongeBob.

The Nobel laureate Richard Feynman is easily the best-loved scientist of the late 20th century. Part mentor, part circus ringmaster, he had an enthusiasm for the mysteries of the universe that infected anyone within earshot: “The energy made you want to study theoretical physics for the rest of your life,” recalls psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison, who attended a Feynman lecture years ago. “It didn’t matter if you had any idea what he was talking about or not!” But you don’t need to be a Nobel laureate to have this effect. Every college campus, every elementary school, for that matter, has its Feynman -- a larger-than-life personality whose essence, beyond mere brains, talent or beauty, makes him or her stand apart. The French call it “je ne sais quoi,” or “I know not what,” but the fact is, we do have words for these attributes. Charisma, chutzpah, joie de vivre and grace are four such “X-factors,” enviable dispositions that defy easy definition, even as they are immediately recognizable in people we admire.

Different though they are, charisma, chutzpah, exuberance and equanimity project a positive energy that radiates beyond the person who embodies them. The Eva Perons and Sidney Poitiers of the world draw attention to themselves, and by means brash or gentle, pull us into the present moment, outside of ourselves. Only recently have psychologists begun to articulate and study what X-factors are made of and the degree to which these complicated qualities are born or bred.

Psychologists have long relegated attributes like chutzpah and charisma to the back burner of research, in part because they are difficult to define, and because one needs a context in which to watch them unfold. Plus, they quickly shade into darker qualities: For every revolutionary hero there’s a tyrant who looks just as charming at first glance. Erin Brockovich elbowed her way to a legal victory (without a law degree) and to Hollywood immortality, but a neighbor who pushes to the front of the bakery line is just plain rude.

Much of our response hinges on whether a person wields his power for the greater good or for his own selfish purposes. If the guy who cuts in line sheepishly smiles and explains that he must satisfy his pregnant wife’s pastry craving, lest she kill him, you will be more likely to admire, not curse, his chutzpah.

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