[gommm]

Yes I definitely do check if my dentist go to conferences, presents or teaches.

Ever since a dentist fucked up and caused me a lot of pain and to spend a lot of money to fix the damage, I've become very careful about how I chose health care professionals. And while I don't know enough about dentistry to judge seeing a dentist go to conference documents himself on the newest techniques and teach or present at conferences is a good signal to find out if he is good.

There are people who are passionate about what they do and they are people who don't care all that much in almost every case the passionate ones will be better.

[circlefavshape]

> in almost every case the passionate ones will be better

My experience has not borne this out, either in development (which I've been doing professionally for almost 20 years) or in music (which I've been doing amateur-ly all my life). Passion is a very weak indicator of skill, community involvement is even weaker

[DustinOfDenver]

Interesting take - How does one maintain Passion about something they are not good (or improving) at? I get that, day one a musician does not have the skills, but would they maintain that passion if they were not getting better?

Passion overtime + participation = improving knowledge.

A new person who is passionate, will quickly outpace the person who is not.

[falcolas]

You missed the important part of that statement, the "in their spare time".

Learning and practicing on the job is one thing, expecting it in the remaining 1/3 of your life is too much.

[DustinOfDenver]

If you LOVE something - you do it in your "spare" time. That was the core of my point. I will take a dentist, butcher, developer who LOVES their work in such a way that the line between work and fun is blurred over someone who is working for the weekend - any day!

You can be a fine developer who just clocks in and out. But if I had a choice (and sometime I don't). I would choose the guy who loves what they do and does it in their "spare" time.