I think one question eludes everyone and I have often felt that the whole tech space just kind of skipped past it. What constitutes a master programmer? Once I

I think one question eludes everyone and I have often felt that the whole tech space just kind of skipped past it. What constitutes a master programmer? Once I thought that there's no mastery in programming. That you just learn and kept of learning until you were ashes and bones. But that isn't true just as it isn't true for chefs, blacksmiths, painters, and other artists. If they have a certain standard where a practitioner becomes a "master" then so should programming. I don't have a lot of experience/knowledge of how masters in other areas are judged but I see one common theme: If you give a piece of rusted metal to a novice blacksmith, he wouldn't know what to do with it. Or even if he works it, it won't be something to be proud of. Give the same piece to a master and you won't believe what he makes of it. Similarly, give an egg and some onions to a master chef and see what magic he brings. Sure, knowledge about the trade matters and years of experience as well but if you strip all of that away, you'll see this steady confidence to be able to do anything (not bravado or foolhardiness) in their trade regardless of the resources and tools. If we translate that to programming, we slowly realize that the toughest programmers are ones who can solve problems at every level, in any environment, under any condition. I am not saying that they are happy doing it (just as a blacksmith won't be happy working with rusty metal) but that they have the ability to just make things work and work in a good way. All that may be very vague since its all just theory and I am basically thinking out loud but in these times when every one has the same access to the same information, I don't think it'd be a fair criteria to judge based on how many books you have read. There's so much to be said on this to better classify the "mastery" of programming. In my opinion, masters of the trade are always rare. There are many who are close to this level of expertise but only a few you reach and surpass it. Note: As I said, I am thinking out loud. I could be wrong and if so, feel free to point that out.