As a modest (probably 3x, since I work hard) programmer-turned-founder who has worked with a handful of 10x programmers over the past couple decades, as well as

As a modest (probably 3x, since I work hard) programmer-turned-founder who has worked with a handful of 10x programmers over the past couple decades, as well as a huge number of 3x programmers, 1x programmers, and 0.1x (i.e. net-negative) programmers: No. It is just not true that any 1x programmer can be a 10x programmer. General intelligence, working memory and the ability to focus for extended periods of time can be slightly improved but cannot be improved by an order of magnitude. It is a noble fiction to pretend otherwise. But it's still a lie. In a large organization, it arguably helps to make the 1x programmers into 1.5x (or 2x or 3x) programmers, and the 2x programmers into 3x ones. But it does not make a 1x programmer into a 10x one. Whether that's possible has probably already been decided before you met the person.