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Ask HN: Are you a bad software engineer if you don't have strong opinions?
On tools? About your team?
Can you be too opinionated? What's the balance?
- doggerel 3y agoThere is a broad confusion between being provocative and being intelligent. (This, I recognize, is a strong opinion.)
- progfolio 3y ago100% yes. Don't bother replying. I can't be convinced otherwise.
- progfolio 3y ago100% no. Don't bother replying. I can't be convinced otherwise.
- scastiel 3y agoYou don’t become a good software engineer because you have strong opinions. You become a good software engineer despite having strong opinions.
- AlwaysNewb23 3y agoI like this. You must have opinions on your work AND be willing to learn / accept new ideas.
- bytelane 3y agoMy $0.02 -- be yourself. Allow yourself to be a human. Humans have strong opinions sometimes. Sometimes they don't. Don't place too much value on micro-characteristics like "this awesome software engineer always uses gdb" or "this magnificent coder only debugs with printf". The reality is that always using debuggers or never using debuggers is probably not what makes these people magnificently awesome in your opinion. Keep an open mind. Learn from others do and adopt the practices you like. It's fine if you develop strong opinions as you go along, but don't be an ass about it.
- AlwaysNewb23 3y ago"Allow yourself to be a human" is always good advice.
- wendyshu 3y agoGood engineers are confident in what they know and confidently unconfident in what they don't know.
- AlwaysNewb23 3y agoIt seems like being willing to learn is the most important part of having good quality opinions.
- nathants 3y agoapathy has to do with environment not skill. if you find yourself increasingly apathetic, consider changing your environment. follow your interests!