[samatman]

The fundamentals are a voracious appetite for trivia, and a temperament suited to debugging.

Plus a certain amount of raw intelligence, but less than many people think. If you're asking, you've got that one covered.

The temperament, though. Can you spend hours to weeks trying to find the stupid and obvious thing you did wrong, and feel good about it afterward? If so, welcome to programming. Enjoy your stay.