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Whenever the FizzBuzz topic pops up on Hacker News in the back of my mind there is a nagging anxiety: am I one of these programmers that can't program? There is
by SMrF 17y ago
Whenever the FizzBuzz topic pops up on Hacker News in the back of my mind there is a nagging anxiety: am I one of these programmers that can't program? There is always some comment in the ensuing discussion that makes me question my own competence.
- telemachos 17y agoDitto, and for me it's a more general thing. (In this case, I tested myself quickly on Patio's suggested question from somewhere in this thread. I just had to open a terminal and see if I could quickly do it. Stupid.) I always feel like a fake - not about programming in particular, about whatever I'm doing and supposed to know about. I like to tell myself that I'm being 'Socratic' and worrying about what I know I don't know.
- iron_ball 17y agoIn the same vein as the Dunning-Kruger Effect, look up "Imposter Syndrome."
- eneveu 17y agoYou should read this recent submission if you haven't yet: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1121775 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1121775 [No One Knows What the F* They're Doing (or "The 3 Types of Knowledge") (jangosteve.com)]
- RiderOfGiraffes 17y agoIf you had contact information 1. I'd send you one of my regular tests 2. You could reply with your code 3. I could tell you if I think you can code at this point in time, under the conditions you used. Or you could email me. 30 seconds of searching didn't find contact details on the blog in your profile. EDIT: amended 3 in light of insightful comment(s) below.
- SMrF 17y agoAdded my email to my profile.
- deleted 17y ago[deleted]
- edw519 17y agoIt's very easy for someone to misinterpret 3. as "I could tell you if I think you can ever code, so I would amend it to "I could tell you if I think you can code now". "Can't code now" could become "Is a great coder" later. Everyone is at their own place on their path. We've all traveled that path. I look at some of my code as recently as a year or two ago and I'm embarrassed. Nobody here should get discouraged. You should just get better.
- scorchin 17y agoI'd love to try out your test, E-mail sent! (UK-based as well)
- edw519 17y ago...am I one of these programmers that can't program? Wrong question. Right question: "Where do I stand and what to I have to do to get better?" Clue: The answer has nothing to do with comparing yourself to anyone else and everything to do with what your building vs. what you need to be building.
- deleted 17y ago[deleted]
- rglovejoy 17y agoSee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning-Kruger_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning-Kruger_effect How you describe yourself is one aspect of Dunning-Kruger: highly competent people often do not think that what they do is anything special, even though in reality, their skills are very rare and highly sought-after.
- araneae 17y agoYes, but the inverse is not true. There are plenty of incompetent people who probably also think that they're incompetent. Thinking you're incompetent does not imply that you are competent.
- RyanMcGreal 17y agoTrue, but nor does it imply that you are incompetent.
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- Sukotto 17y agoHave you seen this other frontpage post from today? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1142733 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1142733 ASmartBear covers this topic from a related angle and it's well worth a read. Esp if, like me, you frequently have to battle the "I'm not good enough" demon.
- deleted 17y ago[deleted]