I've been a fan of Laurent's work in this area for a long time. What I find most interesting is that Laurent's work is clearly about the pervasiveness of myth

I've been a fan of Laurent's work in this area for a long time. What I find most interesting is that Laurent's work is clearly about the pervasiveness of myth and the need to apply rigorous thinking to what we believe. It's not about the specific claims; those are (fascinating) examples. And yet, every time, people get really worked up about the 10x issue. They ignore the broader point entirely and focus on that one claim. (I find it particularly interesting that they focus on 10x and not any of the other claims Laurent debunks. Perhaps because it's easily understood? Perhaps because it's easy to think of anecdotes? Perhaps—and I suspect this is the real truth—because they secretly believe in their hearts that they're among the Chosen, and Laurent's threatening their clubhouse?) Laurent doesn't say, "there are no 10x programmers." He says, "the studies that claim 10x programmers are so weak as to be laughable, the notion of measuring productivity itself is controversial and poorly defined, and do you even know which ratio you're using when you say 10x, anyway?" (He's not quite so informal about it, but that's the gist.) In other words, the 10x claim has yet to be defined, let alone subject to rigorous analysis. But out of the woodwork come these people who say, "I've seen 10x, therefore it must be true!" (I can't help but believe that these are the same people who jump up and down saying "the plural of anecdote is not data.") To be blunt: irrelevant. Laurent didn't say "there are no 10x programmers." Sit down already. Read it again. You know what? The 10x claim doesn't matter. Laurent's not even saying it matters. His argument is bigger, more interesting, and more valuable than that. He's saying that people—us programmers, specifically, who so wish ourselves to be rational thinkers—believe things because we want them to be true. Not because of the "evidence" and "proof" we're so keen to demand when we hear something we don't like... but because they're the myths that surround us, and they make us feel good. (And now I hope morendil will chime in and tell me how I've misinterpreted him. ;-) )