Comment by nxsynonym | Hacker News Reader

Comment by nxsynonym | Hacker News Reader

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These interviews are faux IQ tests though. More often than not these interviews tests a candidate's ability to research interviews and their ability to practice brain teasers and memorize common algorithmic solutions.

> Complex software engineering is inherently tied to innate ability, as painful as it is to admit.

Highly disagree. There is nothing in the field of programming that cannot be taught or learned. Being a good programmer doesn't make you smarter or better than an average programmer, or a non programmer, as painful as it is to admit.

My take is that the intellectual posturing comes from a social context, and has nothing to do with ability. People love to feel special, and pretending that you have to be a genius to be a top level programmer is easier (and nicer to the ego) than accepting that perfectly average people can excel in this field.

>Highly disagree. There is nothing in the field of programming that cannot be taught or learned. Being a good programmer doesn't make you smarter or better than an average programmer, or a non programmer, as painful as it is to admit.

This is like arguing that there is nothing in mathematics that cannot be learned. Some people are simply not able to understand calculus, let alone measure theory and topology. Even fewer can take those abstractions and apply them to new domains.

That sounds awfully arrogant. Do you really think that no one around you is smarter than you are?

I know there are some people in my workspace who are write software faster than I do, and their results are more maintainable than mine. This cannot be something that is "taught or learned", as I had years of experience in the field, while they had to learn it. The only explanation I have is the innate talent.

(disclaimer: this was not web, so no "technology of the day" problems)

> This cannot be something that is "taught or learned", as I had years of experience in the field, while they had to learn it.

What? This can't be learned, but they learned it? Why isn't it possible that they learned to write more maintainable software faster than you?

The ability to enter unknown area and start writing good code fast is (mostly) innate. While there are some tricks and common knowledge which can make it faster, I think it is mostly the inherent talent.

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