> The problem is that when we start out as software developers we don’t know the “right way” to do things so we are less constrained in what we do. We just mar

> The problem is that when we start out as software developers we don’t know the “right way” to do things so we are less constrained in what we do. We just march forward and go do things. As we start to learn the “right way” to do things, we are often stifled by that knowledge and the constraints it brings and that causes us to be less productive or to over engineer and design solutions to problems. I've felt that exact thing my entire career. I'm not a classically trained engineer - I'm a product guy who happens to be really good at building shit. Spending way too much time on sites like Hacker News over the years has taught me a bunch about how Internet loudmouths think things should be done. Learning these things has put me in the upper echelon of developers. I don't think of myself as an engineer, but I've been courted by some of the biggest names in software, and they pay me enough to comfortably afford living in the most expensive city in the country. Yet, in spite of all of that, I'm fairly confident was more creative when I didn't realize that the obvious way wasn't always the best way, and I've wondered more than once what I might be making if I wasn't always keeping so-called best practices in mind.