There's this curious inversion that is often involved, too. When you think you haven't got anything done and you've just considered yourself the second worst,

There's this curious inversion that is often involved, too. When you think you haven't got anything done and you've just considered yourself the second worst, if not worst, programmer in the world, everybody else seems to praise you and be eternally grateful for your great work. But when you've been in the flow, hacked magnificent solutions, and feel you're on the top of the world, the best you can get is that everybody else doesn't even notice. The worst might be complaints or even direct criticism that you feel is totally unattributed to you. Yeah, I suck most of the time. It keeps me learning, though, and I do know my value when I need it. I also try not to be surrounded by idiots: better be a small fish in the big pond than a big fish in a small one.