[blub]

People like Martin Fowler or Robert Martin seem to be more famous for the books that they write about software instead of being famous for the software that they write. I don't think it should be possible for somebody to become an authority on software design without them showing their designs to the world. If they work exclusively on proprietary software, then they should provide some other kind of proof that the recommendations that they make are beneficial and demonstrate how helpful they are. E.g. anonymous metrics from their client pool, detailed analyses of various OSS projects, etc.

When e.g. John Carmack talks about a technical topic there's a very long and very public record of the kind of experience that he has. It's reasonable to trust that they are correct, although one should still verify before betting their project/company/career on that piece of advice.