I think of tool makers. Software engineering, gives you some degrees of freedom, therefore it's kind of an art form. Therefore mastery is about intent and the

I think of tool makers. Software engineering, gives you some degrees of freedom, therefore it's kind of an art form. Therefore mastery is about intent and the ability to realize it. In this canvas, you can ask yourself, is the bearer wielding the tool or is it the other way around. For me a proficient tool user is no master until he makes his tools his own. He can become one either by creating them, or by understanding them deeply enough that he could recreate them. There are then various levels of mastery and mastery over various sizes of domain. Levels are more about the capacity of imagining new tools, and having new visions in order to advance your field in some interesting way. Growing domain size is about trying to have bigger and bigger tools while still retaining control over them.