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I think the "10x programmer" as a term is confusing. In one analogy it could be the 10x bricklayer. One who does a well defined job 10 times faster than the ot

I think the "10x programmer" as a term is confusing. In one analogy it could be the 10x bricklayer. One who does a well defined job 10 times faster than the others. I think this is the notion people oppose. Another analogy is the 10x classical composer. A person who produces music that is 10 times better music. But this is much more about creative/artistic capacity than about producing. Nobody oppose this. I that your examples incarnate the same idea: It is not about producing code faster. It is about having better ideas.

HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago
But very often what makes an idea "better" is that it produces a result faster. I've done exactly this: spent hours trying to solve a problem to no avail. Then walk away, come back to it and see that a completely different approach will solve it in ten minutes.
- madsbuch 5y ago
  I doubt the bricklayer will become more efficient by taking a walk ruminating. But sure, some tasks are like that. Those are the tasks where you have 10x producers.
908B64B197 5y ago
> In one analogy it could be the 10x bricklayer. One who does a well defined job 10 times faster than the others. Software as brick-laying gets a laugh out of me. If someone uses that analogy, that's a red-flag: they don't really understand software (and tech). It's like offshored bodyshops that just keep throwing more warm bodies at a codebase. Truth is, a 10x isn't someone who lays bricks 10 times faster. A 10x is someone who thinks differently. Instead of building you a something with load-bearing walls, he'll innovate and use an internal steel frame, paving the way for your building to be taller than anything previously considered possible. [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Insurance_Building https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Insurance_Building
- madsbuch 5y ago
  I think this is entirely correct. In this framework we wouldn't call it a 10x programmer, but a 10x thinker.
- jcelerier 5y ago
  > It's like offshored bodyshops that just keep throwing more warm bodies at a codebase. Yet they are doing software, aren't they ? So bricklaying has to be part of the "writing software" definition.
- CRConrad 5y ago
  >> In one analogy it could be the 10x bricklayer. One who does a well defined job 10 times faster than the others. > Software as brick-laying gets a laugh out of me. I think that may have been precisely GP's point: The quantitatively-exact-sounding "10x" could possibly be used about an easily-measured well-defined task like brick-laying (which usage could be confirmed by the occurrence of variants like "I'm actually a 12x [or only a 9x] bricklayer"), but not about less well-defined / measurable crafts like programming.

HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago

But very often what makes an idea "better" is that it produces a result faster. I've done exactly this: spent hours trying to solve a problem to no avail. Then walk away, come back to it and see that a completely different approach will solve it in ten minutes.

madsbuch 5y ago
I doubt the bricklayer will become more efficient by taking a walk ruminating. But sure, some tasks are like that. Those are the tasks where you have 10x producers.

908B64B197 5y ago

> In one analogy it could be the 10x bricklayer. One who does a well defined job 10 times faster than the others. Software as brick-laying gets a laugh out of me. If someone uses that analogy, that's a red-flag: they don't really understand software (and tech). It's like offshored bodyshops that just keep throwing more warm bodies at a codebase. Truth is, a 10x isn't someone who lays bricks 10 times faster. A 10x is someone who thinks differently. Instead of building you a something with load-bearing walls, he'll innovate and use an internal steel frame, paving the way for your building to be taller than anything previously considered possible. [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Insurance_Building https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Insurance_Building

madsbuch 5y ago
I think this is entirely correct. In this framework we wouldn't call it a 10x programmer, but a 10x thinker.
jcelerier 5y ago
> It's like offshored bodyshops that just keep throwing more warm bodies at a codebase. Yet they are doing software, aren't they ? So bricklaying has to be part of the "writing software" definition.
CRConrad 5y ago
>> In one analogy it could be the 10x bricklayer. One who does a well defined job 10 times faster than the others. > Software as brick-laying gets a laugh out of me. I think that may have been precisely GP's point: The quantitatively-exact-sounding "10x" could possibly be used about an easily-measured well-defined task like brick-laying (which usage could be confirmed by the occurrence of variants like "I'm actually a 12x [or only a 9x] bricklayer"), but not about less well-defined / measurable crafts like programming.