Comment It's mostly about ego (Score 1) 529
Software engineers might be some of the smartest people on the planet but at the same time some of the least wise. The main
reason for that is ego.
From observation of myself and others, I have come up with "the 5-step developer lifecycle" - it probably also applies to quite a lot of other professions and might apply somewhat to life in general:
1. developer is learning, really curios and asking a lof of more or less stupid questions to other more experienced developers.
2. developer is starting energeticly and randomly to question and object to what the experienced are saying.
3. developer stops listening to what experienced are saying because he assumes that he is always right.
4. developer starts doubting the assumption that he is always right, thinking he might not be Einstein after all, but tries
desperately to defend the assumption to himself an everyone else as best as he can (nobody likes self-doubt or broken illusions).
5. developer realizes that in the grand scheme of things he is just as stupid as all other human beings (and humans are
really stupid in the grand scheme of things). At the same time he comes to peace with himself and is able to laugh of his own
silly mistakes.
Developers in step 2-4 can be extremely counter-productive for an organization. They are usually the most loud-spoken in meetings and might object to any suggestion that they did not come up with themselves. The trick is to hint in the right direction and make them think they came up with the idea.
I don't think this lifecycle applies to all developers - some never leave 1, some are born directly into 5 and some might even
cycle through all of them each day. Been through all 5 myself. The revelation you make at 5 is the most
important insight you'll ever make as a software developer and the step where you finally can start writing good software.
reason for that is ego.
From observation of myself and others, I have come up with "the 5-step developer lifecycle" - it probably also applies to quite a lot of other professions and might apply somewhat to life in general:
1. developer is learning, really curios and asking a lof of more or less stupid questions to other more experienced developers.
2. developer is starting energeticly and randomly to question and object to what the experienced are saying.
3. developer stops listening to what experienced are saying because he assumes that he is always right.
4. developer starts doubting the assumption that he is always right, thinking he might not be Einstein after all, but tries
desperately to defend the assumption to himself an everyone else as best as he can (nobody likes self-doubt or broken illusions).
5. developer realizes that in the grand scheme of things he is just as stupid as all other human beings (and humans are
really stupid in the grand scheme of things). At the same time he comes to peace with himself and is able to laugh of his own
silly mistakes.
Developers in step 2-4 can be extremely counter-productive for an organization. They are usually the most loud-spoken in meetings and might object to any suggestion that they did not come up with themselves. The trick is to hint in the right direction and make them think they came up with the idea.
I don't think this lifecycle applies to all developers - some never leave 1, some are born directly into 5 and some might even
cycle through all of them each day. Been through all 5 myself. The revelation you make at 5 is the most
important insight you'll ever make as a software developer and the step where you finally can start writing good software.
