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There are obvious examples of 10x performers in every creative endeavor. Why would it be any different in software engineering? There are people who find bugs 10x faster than others, design stuff that's 100x easier to maintain, increase morale of a team vs being an energy drain, make changes faster without breaking stuff, etc. There are a lot of ways one can become 10x more effective than another at building software.

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There are examples, yes, but I took it as the implication that a 10x engineer shouldn't be the bare minimum for the entire workforce's ability to reason about a problem or dedication to its craft (and thus lead to the meme that one isn't worth spent effort unless they are in the >=10x group).

That’s the nature of any long-tailed distribution.

The lie is that anyone can become a 10x [insert thing here] just by trying harder. Self-improvement is a real thing, but everyone can’t be 10x or 6-sigma or world class.

Strive, reach, sure… but ultimately, just make sure you live your life. You only get one, and the clock’s ticking.

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