[atonse]

Ehhh no I don’t think it’s that simple.

I’ve found that in any tech company, while there are many people that write good code and do a great job, there are always a handful (even at a place like Apple) that truly push the industry forward and in certain directions, partly because of how they see years ahead, partly because they are supremely talented, and partly because they attract other really good talent just to work with them.

And we know many of their names. Folks like Brian Cantrill, Yehuda Katz, Fabrice Bellard, John Carmack, Bret Taylor.

They aren’t just good programmers. They’re constantly dwelling in uncharted territory.

I’m not advocating worshipping them, just stating that their talent and output is hell of a lot more than even 10x.

[DrBazza]

I understand what you're saying, but I'd still argue that they're supremely familiar with their toolchain, and have a deep understanding of the problems they're trying to solve. My comment said they've usually solved the problem at least once already, but I don't discount people solving new problems.