3 ms·

Ever talked with someone with 30-40 years of professional dev experience? This has been my experience with them - even if they don't know exactly what you're do

Ever talked with someone with 30-40 years of professional dev experience? This has been my experience with them - even if they don't know exactly what you're doing or the particulars of a specific technology, they have a vast amount of accumulated knowledge and experience that is often useful. And of course, they can probably school you in C.

ryacko 8y ago
I think the previous comment may have been referring to Bill Gates having photographic memory.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- ConceptJunkie 8y ago
  He may, but even if he doesn't having as much technical experience as he does, or anyone else who's been around the block as much as he has, is going to give you a shortcut to insight into most situations.
- ashelmire 8y ago
  He said incredible memory. But I suppose my point is that it's easier to remember things when you've encountered them many times in your career and been developing so long (over 45 years!).
maxxxxx 8y ago
The way I was told the story it was more about him knowing EXACTLY what they were doing. They suspected that he is reading a ton of E-mails and remembers all the details.
- alexpotato 8y ago
  I am not surprised that people with amazing memories end up being in senior positions for a variety of reasons (and not just technical). I am WAY more fascinated by the people who end up in those roles who do NOT have amazing memories. Partly because my memory is by no means "amazing" so I'm curious how they work around not being able to recall everything on command.
  - maxxxxx 8y ago
    I think the higher up you get the more you need memory capacity to quickly switch between tasks. When I look at my VP he has to do a complete context switch between completely different issues almost every hour and remember what was discussed weeks before.
  - ryanhuff 8y ago
    I was listening to a radio interview with an (American) football coach (Sean McVay), who has risen up the ranks very quickly. The guy can instantly recall details about past football plays and outcomes like a walking encyclopedia, and apply them situationally during games. Hyper focused. The interviewer asked him of this recall and focus translated to other aspects of his life, and the coach said that it was limited to football, and that he's essentially an unbalanced mess with anything non-football related. So, for these people that seem to have super recall and deep, broad expertise in their professional environments, does it often come at the expense of being equally unbalanced in other areas of their life?
    - munificent 8y ago
      Reminds me of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNVJFRl6f6s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNVJFRl6f6s Some people are just on a whole other level.

ryacko 8y ago

I think the previous comment may have been referring to Bill Gates having photographic memory.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
ConceptJunkie 8y ago
He may, but even if he doesn't having as much technical experience as he does, or anyone else who's been around the block as much as he has, is going to give you a shortcut to insight into most situations.
ashelmire 8y ago
He said incredible memory. But I suppose my point is that it's easier to remember things when you've encountered them many times in your career and been developing so long (over 45 years!).

maxxxxx 8y ago

The way I was told the story it was more about him knowing EXACTLY what they were doing. They suspected that he is reading a ton of E-mails and remembers all the details.

alexpotato 8y ago
I am not surprised that people with amazing memories end up being in senior positions for a variety of reasons (and not just technical). I am WAY more fascinated by the people who end up in those roles who do NOT have amazing memories. Partly because my memory is by no means "amazing" so I'm curious how they work around not being able to recall everything on command.
- maxxxxx 8y ago
  I think the higher up you get the more you need memory capacity to quickly switch between tasks. When I look at my VP he has to do a complete context switch between completely different issues almost every hour and remember what was discussed weeks before.
- ryanhuff 8y ago
  I was listening to a radio interview with an (American) football coach (Sean McVay), who has risen up the ranks very quickly. The guy can instantly recall details about past football plays and outcomes like a walking encyclopedia, and apply them situationally during games. Hyper focused. The interviewer asked him of this recall and focus translated to other aspects of his life, and the coach said that it was limited to football, and that he's essentially an unbalanced mess with anything non-football related. So, for these people that seem to have super recall and deep, broad expertise in their professional environments, does it often come at the expense of being equally unbalanced in other areas of their life?
  - munificent 8y ago
    Reminds me of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNVJFRl6f6s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNVJFRl6f6s Some people are just on a whole other level.