I think you're perceiving a dichotomy between "excel" and "fail", and then compounding this with conjecture that this is a) correlated to enthusiasm and b) some

I think you're perceiving a dichotomy between "excel" and "fail", and then compounding this with conjecture that this is a) correlated to enthusiasm and b) something that needs fixing. From my experience - I've seen many different programmers in many different situations over the last three decades - I think I can recall enough counterexamples to suggest all three points are misperceptions. > "They're just doing it hoping to get a job...." Why can't it just be a day job? By the same token, I suck at programming even though I love it (and have enough experience to fake it).