problem is that too many mediocre programers identify themselves as the Alpha engineer.
Indeed. 90% of people think they are in the top 10% of performers.
The Alpha Engineer
21–30 of 30 posts
Re: The Alpha Engineer
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah that or maybe before writing another post like this, you might want to stop and thing whether you are really in a position to be pontificating about anything.
How true. I ask myself that question every day. Feel free to look me up and come to your own conclusion. Best.
Lol, implying I didn't. I like the part where you are so full of yourself that you think that I will be impressed.
Re: The Alpha Engineer
#23Nice essay, but backed by these horrible examples: * a group of mediocre architects could have built a better dome in Florence than Brunelleschi * a group of mediocre stock pickers could have outperformed Buffett * a group of mediocre designers could have built a better computer than Jobs * a group of mediocre basketball players could have beat Jordan in the NBA finals * a group of mediocre humanitarians could have h…
Thanks for the comments. So you do agree that Brunelleschi lead with his brilliant design and Buffett does dramatically outperform his peers. Jordan never lost a championship and would handily beat 5 mediocre basketball players from the general population -- remember that every player who makes the NBA is an alpha. I edited out the final bullet as it unnecessarily complicates the post.
yes with Brunelleschi's lead (but he still needs a big team), but since Buffet only outperforms by about 15% I wouldn't call that "dramatic" in the context of your post. As for Jordan, I suspect five of me could beat one Michael Jordon, and I suck at basketball.
Maybe you could better make your point by avoiding analogies and staying within our hackery field for alpha examples. For example, a single Linus Torvalds in a weekend could put together git, which could then keep thousands of mediocre programmers confused for years :-)
Re: The Alpha Engineer
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thanks for the comments. So you do agree that Brunelleschi lead with his brilliant design and Buffett does dramatically outperform his peers. Jordan never lost a championship and would handily beat 5 mediocre basketball players from the general population -- remember that every player who makes the NBA is an alpha. I edited out the final bullet as it unnecessarily complicates the post.
yes with Brunelleschi's lead (but he still needs a big team), but since Buffet only outperforms by about 15% I wouldn't call that "dramatic" in the context of your post. As for Jordan, I suspect five of me could beat one Michael Jordon, and I suck at basketball. Maybe you could better make your point by avoiding analogies and staying within our hackery field for alpha examples. For example, a single Linus Torvalds in…
Five of you would not beat Michael Jordan, even now that he's 50. You're underestimating how much better the best people are than the average. You're really underestimating how much better they are than people who suck.
Re: The Alpha Engineer
#25That alpha engineer is only going to make a successful system if they know how to work with others and produce maintainable code. For every one of the types of alpha engineers this article deifies there is at least one other alpha engineer that is difficult to work work, doesn't document their code and has a NIH attitude that refuses to incorporate the work of others even when suitable for the task at hand. These guy…
These guys are usually known as the BBM and are can[sic] appear to be awesome
Re: The Alpha Engineer
#26"a lovely group of third place finishers even with a ton of consensus will never outperform one genius"
...providing that genius is a Leader and not a Cowboy.
Re: The Alpha Engineer
#27Can't tell if sarcastic.
Re: The Alpha Engineer
#28That alpha engineer is only going to make a successful system if they know how to work with others and produce maintainable code. For every one of the types of alpha engineers this article deifies there is at least one other alpha engineer that is difficult to work work, doesn't document their code and has a NIH attitude that refuses to incorporate the work of others even when suitable for the task at hand. These guy…
These guys are usually known as the BBM and are can[sic] appear to be awesome BBM, aside from the somewhat dated reference Blackberry Messenger, can be a reference to African-Americans, which many (including myself) find offensive.
BBM = brilliant bipolar mind
Re: The Alpha Engineer
#29"There is also less fear of upsetting the original creator [...]" Also, part of the team building process is done as a contingency plan on the part of the company. If "the plan" is in the head of just one person, then the rest of the company becomes that person's bitch and when that one leaves...
Re: The Alpha Engineer
#30problem is that too many mediocre programers identify themselves as the Alpha engineer.
Indeed. 90% of people think they are in the top 10% of performers.
And the other 10% are told by psychologist that they have a Self-esteem problem.
Society as a whole is to blame for the 90% believing they are part of the 10% best. If society had its way it would be a 100% of people believing they are part of the 10%.
And the spark that created this was created by psychologist. Which are also responsible for the high percentage of narcissist (compared to previous generations) that our society have.
Before: you had to actually do something to prove you are an alpha.
Now: people believe by default that they are alphas while the rest are betas.
This is terrible, because those who would could actually become alphas would not do it, because they believe they are already alphas, so they do not work as hard.
Because of this society as a whole is getting worse, not better.