On Coding, Ego and Attention
> Top students convincing everyone else to stop trying. Or, great engineers convincing the rest to stop trying.<p>This happens in a more literal sense as well. Since we compare ourselves to each other, it makes sense that more experienced engineers love feeling like they're ahead and beyond newer engineers, and it bleeds into behavior.<p>For example, engineers love asking candidates obscure questions in interviews - as if not knowing a specific JVM perk makes the candidate less of an engineer.<p>Let's also not forget the severe elitist attitude some engineers have when interacting with others. It's almost like everyone else is trash. For all the work he's done, which I admire, Torvalds was seriously toxic to interact with.<p>It all ties back to us wanting to compare ourselves to each other.