I think that having the context to recognize a problem and solve it at a meta level means, almost by definition, that you aren't a "festering pile of shit as a programmer".
Programming isn't just about writing great code, it's about solving problems. Sure, one problem to solve is having code be extensible/maintainable, but it isn't the only one.
I don't care what shiny new code is written with the latest framework; if it doesn't solve a business problem, it's bad code.
I found it to be interesting as well. Just anecodata, but my wife and I (I'm a dude) talk about her imposter syndrome all the time. I have it, but don't talk about it much.
Humility is great, but when people call something a "syndrome" (a word usually associated with disorders/diseases), they usually mean that the thing is interfering with your life - humility taken too far, to a degree that is making you feel worse and causing problems for you.
Impostor syndrome can mean that you have difficulty taking pride in your work (since all you can see are the problems with it), which makes it difficult to share your knowledge - which isn't good for other people who might want to know about it and learn from it, and isn't good for your reputation and career growth.
Impostor syndrome can also mean that it's hard for you to ask questions (and admit that you don't know something!), since you're worried that you don't know as much as you should, which makes your work harder.
Not taking pride in your work and not asking questions also means that you're not really being the best role model for people looking up to you - your coworkers, people who work for you, volunteers who help with your project, etc.
Imposter syndrome is our natural social/emotional protection against 'knowitall' syndrome where you speak and act confidently when you are unqualified and mislead people. The ability to speak and act confidently is a learned social skill, normally you are supposed to learn it by peers validating/respecting you/you respecting yourself. But the process can be shortcut by imitation and 'faking it till you make it'(e.g. The type of confidence sales people tend to have doesn't run as deep imo)
Thanks for posting that, I'm a male who has had the imposter feeling sometimes. However, I eventually realized 2 things:
(a) Learning in any area means learning, among other things, how much there is to know. This makes one feel humble (at best) - yet in reality one's own knowledge is probably way above average by the time you get to this perspective.
(b) Some people who appear competent (and in some cases think themselves competent) really aren't. Don't assume too much in either direction!
This. And we also do it to ourselves when looking for work, exacerbating the problem and pushing onto future IT personnel. Just look at the job descriptions for most IT jobs out there and you'll see that IT personnel are expected to know way too much, when really you just need the fundamentals (everything else can be learned just-in-time). I've written a much longer answer detailing a specific job description that helps flare up my imposter syndrome: http://typicalrunt.me/2013/07/29/a-response-to-crushing-the-...
Guy here. I operated under imposter syndrome for a long time. It's diminished as I've learned that it's mostly a lie I tell myself, but I still struggle against it from time to time.
I'm not talking about comparing yourself to others as far as money or status. I'm talking simply on an individual level. For example, if you're a programmer you might compare yourself to John Carmack, Linus Torvalds, etc. Even on a more realistic level, a new/jr programmer might compare himself to the senior person in his group and think "Wow, I'll never be that good".
I totally agree with "If I don't make things as good as I can, why do them at all?" as I've thought along the same lines.
12 comments
[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 37.6 ms ] threadProgramming isn't just about writing great code, it's about solving problems. Sure, one problem to solve is having code be extensible/maintainable, but it isn't the only one.
I don't care what shiny new code is written with the latest framework; if it doesn't solve a business problem, it's bad code.
Impostor syndrome can mean that you have difficulty taking pride in your work (since all you can see are the problems with it), which makes it difficult to share your knowledge - which isn't good for other people who might want to know about it and learn from it, and isn't good for your reputation and career growth.
Impostor syndrome can also mean that it's hard for you to ask questions (and admit that you don't know something!), since you're worried that you don't know as much as you should, which makes your work harder.
Not taking pride in your work and not asking questions also means that you're not really being the best role model for people looking up to you - your coworkers, people who work for you, volunteers who help with your project, etc.
(This is based on what I learned from the impostor syndrome presentation described at http://adainitiative.org/2013/06/kicking-impostor-syndrome-i... .)
(a) Learning in any area means learning, among other things, how much there is to know. This makes one feel humble (at best) - yet in reality one's own knowledge is probably way above average by the time you get to this perspective.
(b) Some people who appear competent (and in some cases think themselves competent) really aren't. Don't assume too much in either direction!
I totally agree with "If I don't make things as good as I can, why do them at all?" as I've thought along the same lines.