That's why C++ is in brackets. :) I think the reason a hobbyist might be able to pull off something extraordinary is because he is not bound to the same ambiti

That's why C++ is in brackets. :) I think the reason a hobbyist might be able to pull off something extraordinary is because he is not bound to the same ambition as a tech company. He can focus on performance, the 10K req/s part, and ignore the "requirement" of serving something large and complex that is likely full of bugs. "Developer time" is "hobby time". Done for the pleasure of it, not the money. Some of the most impressive software from a performance standpoint has been written by more or less "one man teams". I am glad I am not a tech worker. Even for someone who enjoys programming, it does not sound fun at all. No wonder there is so much cynicism.