it's easy to make people think you're some kind of misunderstood genius without having any kind of valuable work whatsoever Are you kidding? It's incredibly di

it's easy to make people think you're some kind of misunderstood genius without having any kind of valuable work whatsoever Are you kidding? It's incredibly difficult to impersonate a rockstar. Even I, who have not watched a single minute of American Idol, know how to tell a true rockstar in thirty seconds: Auditions. You hand them an instrument or a microphone and tell them to perform. And a rockstar needs a portfolio and -- if possible -- a fanbase [1], and these are also hard to fake. Evidence on Youtube suggests that Stefani Germanotta had a lot of musical talent and intelligence as a sophomore in music school, but she didn't become a rockstar until she'd developed a persona, adopted a stage name, released some tracks, and sold them to enough people. Real rockstars ship. Analogously, we all know that when a programmer comes through the door claiming to be a rockstar you have to insist on seeing their portfolio and watching them perform. That's what all the discussions of the interview process are about. --- [1] In practice, the software metaphor rockstar really means something more like "aspiring rock star"; it doesn't necessarily refer to a programmer with a "fan base". If you actually want to hire Linus Torvalds, or Lady Gaga for that matter, you don't put out an ad asking for a "rockstar". You phone them up personally, or phone their agent.