5 ms·

I don't love the wizard metaphor either. Mainly because I don't like buying into the ego behind it. Kent Beck had a great talk (happiness at work, I believe) wh

I don't love the wizard metaphor either. Mainly because I don't like buying into the ego behind it. Kent Beck had a great talk (happiness at work, I believe) where he talked about the downsides of seeking ego validation through one's work. I'd much rather treat these as pretty common sense, learnable lessons that are accessible to anyone. As for one's output being mostly based on luck? I must disagree with you. I find those that care about what they're doing, and why they're doing it - consistently outperform those that aren't invested in what they're doing. And I think there are those that are more suited to our line of work than others (whether due to how their minds work, or otherwise). Luck does however play a part in the chances we get to learn and to prove ourselves, especially if you're not born into a relative position of advantage. But to sum up one's contributions, skills, talents and effort to be just luck? That seems dismissive.

excitedNerd 7y ago
(Author here again) I appreciate your point here! It's true that "wizard" reminds me a little bit of being called a "rockstar," which I have always had a distaste for due to the above-mentioned ego thing. I elected to use "wizard" because I find it to be a useful and interesting metaphor in light of my own personal love for RPGs and fantasy, and because I was really inspired by Julia Evans' use of the term to de-mystify learning. I think of it as a rhetorical device, and nothing more.
- switchbak 7y ago
  Good to hear. That's essentially how I read the article, and I think it has a special quality to those with the rpg/ fantasy background. I really love Julia Evan's writing as well, especially the way she's so humble and open about her path. I have unfortunately met a bunch of folks that while being brilliant, also seem caught up in being seen as uniquely gifted/powerful. When their status gets challenged, they can be particularly nasty in defending themselves. And it's that connotation where the Wizard metaphor troubles me. Looking back I've even see myself getting caught up in this, which I think can be an energetic trap, and really harm relations and even team efficiency. Funny that a single word has such a dichotomy :) Thanks for the article!
  - xtracerx 7y ago
    Ah yes, the power-mad dark wizard. You should avoid that guy and hang out with the laid back hippy zen wizards.
euske 7y ago
> Luck does however play a part in the chances we get to learn and to prove ourselves, especially if you're not born into a relative position of advantage. But to sum up one's contributions, skills, talents and effort to be just luck? That seems dismissive. Of course I actually don't believe that everything is just luck. But too much emphasis on one's talent and ability and "good taste" and/or "right choice" etc. is actually intimidating and harmful. (Again, the balance is the key.) Note to self: the word I should've used was "mysticism".

excitedNerd 7y ago

(Author here again) I appreciate your point here! It's true that "wizard" reminds me a little bit of being called a "rockstar," which I have always had a distaste for due to the above-mentioned ego thing. I elected to use "wizard" because I find it to be a useful and interesting metaphor in light of my own personal love for RPGs and fantasy, and because I was really inspired by Julia Evans' use of the term to de-mystify learning. I think of it as a rhetorical device, and nothing more.

switchbak 7y ago
Good to hear. That's essentially how I read the article, and I think it has a special quality to those with the rpg/ fantasy background. I really love Julia Evan's writing as well, especially the way she's so humble and open about her path. I have unfortunately met a bunch of folks that while being brilliant, also seem caught up in being seen as uniquely gifted/powerful. When their status gets challenged, they can be particularly nasty in defending themselves. And it's that connotation where the Wizard metaphor troubles me. Looking back I've even see myself getting caught up in this, which I think can be an energetic trap, and really harm relations and even team efficiency. Funny that a single word has such a dichotomy :) Thanks for the article!
- xtracerx 7y ago
  Ah yes, the power-mad dark wizard. You should avoid that guy and hang out with the laid back hippy zen wizards.

euske 7y ago

> Luck does however play a part in the chances we get to learn and to prove ourselves, especially if you're not born into a relative position of advantage. But to sum up one's contributions, skills, talents and effort to be just luck? That seems dismissive. Of course I actually don't believe that everything is just luck. But too much emphasis on one's talent and ability and "good taste" and/or "right choice" etc. is actually intimidating and harmful. (Again, the balance is the key.) Note to self: the word I should've used was "mysticism".