But I highly doubt that the best programmers we can think of got good by doing code katas and code retreats. They seem more like things mediocre programmers do,

But I highly doubt that the best programmers we can think of got good by doing code katas and code retreats. They seem more like things mediocre programmers do, or people only do to prepare for interviews. I could be wrong though - have any great programmers expressed their love of katas?