[crpatino]

37yo here. Like you, I have met ridiculously smart, knowledgeable and young people and came to the conclusion that I am never ever going to be able to be like them. Heck!!! If I had not met them first hand, I would not have an idea how far the gap in front of me is.

But it seems that you do not seem to realize how far the gap behind yourself really is. If there is one capital sin in programmers, it has to be our hubris... and you seem rather humble to me. Of course it is possible that your self esteem is accurate, in which case you would be rather incompetent or at least mediocre. But if that was the case, how did you make it this far into the craft?

No, in my experience mediocre programmers don't go around thinking about "the pursuit of mastery". You really have to consider the possibility that you have a severe case of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome! If that's the case I can only advice to keep going, do the best you can and not worry too much about comparing yourself with others.

[redmand]

I'm not one to put stock into the myriad of psychological conditions that people seem to carry around like badges ("Look at me, I'm ADD!"), so I followed your link with a dismissal at the ready. Then I read something in there that was close to my own words..."Proof of success is dismissed as luck"...I about choked!

Not that I'm ready to go around saying "I have a disorder, yay!", but it was certainly an interesting concept to be introduced to.

And before I get angry comments about my ADD comment, my son has been diagnosed ADD, so I make that snide remark knowing full-well what his life is like.

[pc86]

Imposter syndrome is incredibly common among very successful people, which as much as we might hate to admit it, most developers are.