[bijection]

It's a pragmatic thing. Telling an imposter syndrome sufferer that they have imposter syndrome is more productive than telling an imposter they're an imposter. On the internet when you can't be sure which person you're talking to, it's better to give advice that could be helpful if it turns out to apply to the person you're talking to, than to share commentary that wouldn't be too helpful either way.

[ffggvv]

i think it's less pragmatic and more "nice". such as telling people they can be anything they want to be even if they are 5'2 and want to be in the NBA

[striking]

Programming ability is based on far fewer immutable characteristics and the pool of programmers is far less exclusive than that of the NBA, though.

I think it's more common that someone is simply not confident in their programming prowess and without that confidence may never achieve their goals. Knowing this, knowing that neither you nor I likely have the credentials or ability to prejudge someone's ability, and barring some obviously shady/impostor behavior like having bummed most of an assignment off of someone else and then asking for my help laundering it... you will almost always find me encouraging people to not feel like impostors and instead feel like programmers that are just early on in their careers.

I think such a default makes sense, and not even because it is "nice". Even pragmatically, people can often improve.

[afarrell]

People can't improve if they lack self-knowledge and others are wiling to bullshit them.

"I've got skill gaps as a programmer, especially at broad-level architectural design" is a belief that a mentally healthy person can have.

"If I express concern about my skill level, people will just say that I'm delusional" is a belief that will mess somebody up, especially if it is repeatedly re-enforced by reality.

[striking]

You're not replying to the comment I wrote and to the comment I was replying to.

There is no equivalence between "bullshitting people" and encouraging them to think of themselves as early on in their careers. There is no equivalence between encouraging someone to improve and ignoring someone's self-concerns about their skill level. There is no equivalence between someone currently lacking programming skill and someone being too short for the NBA.

In case I wasn't clear about it before, you shouldn't bullshit people who clearly aren't putting the work in or are having trouble getting to where they want to go. You should encourage them to think in a healthy way about their current progress and encourage them to find ways to get better and allocate the resources needed for their growth.

[afarrell]

> There is no equivalence between someone currently lacking programming skill and someone being too short for the NBA.

Agreed.

> You should encourage them to think in a healthy way about their current progress and encourage them to find ways to get better and allocate the resources needed for their growth.

Agreed.

> There is no equivalence between encouraging someone to improve and ignoring someone's self-concerns about their skill level.

It depends crucially on the words you use to encourage them to improve. I've often found 'impostor syndrome' to be stymie clarity. I might be guilty of replying to a comment that isn't quite your words though. apologies for that.

[nitrogen]

This guy was 5'3" (though, granted, that's the record and a significant outlier): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muggsy_Bogues

[davidkuhta]

Definitely made his mark and I can only imagine the feelings of imposter syndrome he had. Fun anecdote for those who aren't familiar: He's one of the players in Space Jam whose playing talent is stolen by the Monstars.

[ffggvv]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exception_that_proves_the_rule

[hilbertseries]

I think this just makes his point.

[afarrell]

Telling an imposter syndrome sufferer that they have impostor syndrome without any additional evidence is telling a pyrophobic that you won't sell them a fire alarm -- and that they shouldn't expect anyone else to.