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Actually, most programmers would still comfortably think they are the brightest guy in the world even if they fell right through to the bottom of the bucket. Th
by usrusr 8y ago
Actually, most programmers would still comfortably think they are the brightest guy in the world even if they fell right through to the bottom of the bucket. There are no formal competitions ruthlessly declaring winners and losers to put us into our place. If everybody around me is shipping faster, better and more reliable they are probably just "doing it wrong". Cutting corners, not respecting the art or something like that, any excuse will do.
- saas_sam 8y agoWe aren't discussing whether a given engineer would still view themselves as being smart. We're discussing how it feels to be at the very top of your field and then falling behind. Even if you are higher after the fall than you were before your rise, it will be very painful. I know more than one person who met with tragedy as a result of this. By their own standards of just a few years prior, they were doing amazingly well still. But by their new standards, inflated due to rapid success, they were doing terribly. One person took his life as a result.