4 ms·
Isn't, say, 10 days an order of magnitude faster (better) than 100 days?
by subroutine 4y ago
Isn't, say, 10 days an order of magnitude faster (better) than 100 days?
- ComputerGuru 4y agoIt’s just one example of being 10x better but hardly the only one or the most realistic.
- subroutine 4y agoBut probably the least subjective, and yeah, my position is that 10x is unrealistic.
- ComputerGuru 4y agoIt may be the least subjective but it’s also the least technically/physically probable even if someone were a 10x developer. The gambit is that a mediocre programmer would take 10x as long to write the same code as the hypothetical 10x dev. But that’s not what a mediocre or even average dev does: they solve the problem in an entirely different (and, for purposes of this argument, less optimal) manner in some spam of time that may or may not be longer than a qualified hacker or a theoretical 10x dev. Almost all CS problems have multiple solutions, so you’re not likely to find one where there is only one solution and it takes one guy x and the other guy 10x as long.
- subroutine 4y agoFair. I get your point. My only contention is of the magnitude - imo someone 10 times better than the average developer is a unicorn. But the term gets thrown around any time someone is 'just' really good; they wrote fairly optimal code, quickly. However, to your point, there may be an argument to be made that people who have made a huge impact on the CS landscape are 10x-ers (regardless of efficiency). Is Linus a 10x-er?