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by goldfeld 1190 days ago
I have often wondered though how many coders worldwide are really comparable to a rock star, I guess in terms of standing out as a super creative outlier. So many rockstar wannabes out there in the wild world..
2 comments

Linus is the only one I can think of given his level of job security. Maybe Woz, but I don't think he doesn't seem to be a professional coder today. Perhaps Stephen Wolfram. Everyone else seems much more disposable than even B-tier rock/pop stars, relatively speaking. Bill doesn't count given he likely hasn't touched any code himself since the 1980s.

I've heard of multiple language and framework designers who failed to score a job when it really should have been a slam dunk. There might be rockstars among the foot soldiers of tech, but virtually none outside of that.

The number may as well be zero. It's pure marketing crap.

Relatedly, no US Marines have ever defeated a lava monster with a magic sword.