1x Engineer

Is this list intended to imply that a so-called 10x programmer does not have these qualities? Or has the opposite qualities? Do 10x programmers kill puppies?

In 40 years working as a programmer I have never heard a programmer call themselves “10x” except ironically, as a joke. The term seems to come from management, and maybe recruiters, as a shorthand for the obvious (and often large) differences in programmer productivity (according to multiple metrics) observed in both studies and in practice. Steve McConnell wrote a good article about it, you can find several others.

https://www.construx.com/blog/the-origins-of-10x-how-valid-i...

Although no programmers go around calling themselves 10x or wearing an exclusive patch or tattoo this subject keeps coming up, as if the mere 1X programmers were oppressed and offended. In actual programming teams and projects everyone contributes in different ways, some people have more experience and skills than others, and we usually recognize the stars and the less-skilled. Programmer productivity is highly situational: I may work 10x faster than a colleague on project A, but change things up and I may be the junior on the team.

Perpetuating this imaginary class system as if there’s a 10x caste pushing everyone else down, and consoling those who imagine oppression with feel-good lists like this can only cause more friction and resentment among programmers, when teams work best when everyone works together and helps improve skills all around.

This list seems to be another example of a mediocre programmer trying to look better by saying that an actually better programmer does not exist because their output is objectively not better when you look at it holistically.

The reasoning seems to be that this better programmer would write programs that are impossible to understand or maintain or a host of other reasons why the person is basically incompatible with a long-term sustainable software output.

There are other reactions to being a mediocre programmer, for example trying to get better or simply giving up entirely.

Better programmers make mistakes too, sometimes big mistakes. But they also break new frontiers.