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While the article is obviously made by a jackass, it's understandable given the following statement: "In reality there is only a handful of true programming gen

While the article is obviously made by a jackass, it's understandable given the following statement: "In reality there is only a handful of true programming geniuses in the field who are either independent contractors or are employed by computer hardware/software firms. There are few, if any, true programming geniuses in the average corporate shop." I might agree with that statement.

arohner 17y ago
But that's just Sturgeon's Law: 90% of everything is crap. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeons_Law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeons_Law
arohner 17y ago
"In reality there is only a handful of true programming geniuses in the field who are either independent contractors or are employed by computer hardware/software firms. There are few, if any, true programming geniuses in the average corporate shop." With managers like that, I wonder why. I wonder if they're working on startups to not deal with people like that.
sshumaker 17y ago
I'm not sure I agree with this statement. There's definitely not an equal distribution of intelligence across all disciplines. In the 50's and 60's, when aerospace was the rage, all of the best and brightest wanted to work for NASA and become rocket scientists. In the last twenty or so years, the best and the brightest have been drawn to computers. One might argue this is part of the reason we've seen so much innovation in the computer industry, and so little in aerospace (60 years after flight was invented, we had a man on the moon. what have we done since?) Given that a higher proportion of intelligent people are attracted to technology fields, it's a safe assumption that programmers are ABOVE average intelligence - and there are more geniuses here than elsewhere. That said, the 'average corporate shop' probably has driven out all signs of intelligent life, especially if managed by people like the writer of this article.
F_J_H 17y ago
The thing, everyone with an account on HN would put themselves in that category. It's like asking someone if they are a better than average driver. Of course they are. And, if you are a successful startup, sooner or later you will become an "average corporate shop". And so...you need to learn how to manage them.

arohner 17y ago

But that's just Sturgeon's Law: 90% of everything is crap. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeons_Law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeons_Law

arohner 17y ago

"In reality there is only a handful of true programming geniuses in the field who are either independent contractors or are employed by computer hardware/software firms. There are few, if any, true programming geniuses in the average corporate shop." With managers like that, I wonder why. I wonder if they're working on startups to not deal with people like that.

sshumaker 17y ago

I'm not sure I agree with this statement. There's definitely not an equal distribution of intelligence across all disciplines. In the 50's and 60's, when aerospace was the rage, all of the best and brightest wanted to work for NASA and become rocket scientists. In the last twenty or so years, the best and the brightest have been drawn to computers. One might argue this is part of the reason we've seen so much innovation in the computer industry, and so little in aerospace (60 years after flight was invented, we had a man on the moon. what have we done since?) Given that a higher proportion of intelligent people are attracted to technology fields, it's a safe assumption that programmers are ABOVE average intelligence - and there are more geniuses here than elsewhere. That said, the 'average corporate shop' probably has driven out all signs of intelligent life, especially if managed by people like the writer of this article.

F_J_H 17y ago

The thing, everyone with an account on HN would put themselves in that category. It's like asking someone if they are a better than average driver. Of course they are. And, if you are a successful startup, sooner or later you will become an "average corporate shop". And so...you need to learn how to manage them.