Actually you'd be wrong about that.<p>The truth is that people don't improve unless they can find shortcomings in themselves that can be improved upon.  Which means that good people usually have no problem identifying people who are better at some things than they are.  In my experience most have no trouble listing people who are simply better than they are.<p>So sure, I believe I'm pretty good.  But am I as good as any of Robert Morris, Damian Conway or Alan Kay?  Of course not, and I'd be an idiot to think otherwise.