That story is interesting because it highlights what is often an enormous gap between people who are "pretty good" and people who truly excel. At times it feels like an impassable chasm.
As a similar example, when I was younger I used to cycle a lot. I would go out 4-5 times a week and would cycle as far as I could and as hard as I could. I got to the point where it became frustrating to cycle with any of the people I knew because I was so much faster that I could not get a reasonable workout if I went at their speed.
So I figured it was time to take the next step, so I signed up for the youth category of a regional cycle race to see how I would fare there. I remember seeing my competition, who were kids about my age but they had turned up with dedicated vans (embossed with sponsorship logos), support crews, carbon fibre bikes and personal trainers, the works. Many of them were actually the sons of pro cyclists.
So I line up at the start and when the gun goes off everyone plows forward, I manage to keep up for a while by working hard and feel pretty good about it. Though after a while it becomes obvious that they were really only just warming up and one by one they start to drop me until I'm stuck right at the back of the race.
This put me off cycling for quite a while, because it seemed like the choice was simply between dominating everyone or losing.
I sometimes think programming and computer stuff can be similar, everyone knows a kid who is a "computer genius" but in reality that can mean anything from knowing how to re-install Windows and fix basic computer problems to someone who hacks on the Linux kernel for fun.
As a similar example, when I was younger I used to cycle a lot. I would go out 4-5 times a week and would cycle as far as I could and as hard as I could. I got to the point where it became frustrating to cycle with any of the people I knew because I was so much faster that I could not get a reasonable workout if I went at their speed.
So I figured it was time to take the next step, so I signed up for the youth category of a regional cycle race to see how I would fare there. I remember seeing my competition, who were kids about my age but they had turned up with dedicated vans (embossed with sponsorship logos), support crews, carbon fibre bikes and personal trainers, the works. Many of them were actually the sons of pro cyclists.
So I line up at the start and when the gun goes off everyone plows forward, I manage to keep up for a while by working hard and feel pretty good about it. Though after a while it becomes obvious that they were really only just warming up and one by one they start to drop me until I'm stuck right at the back of the race.
This put me off cycling for quite a while, because it seemed like the choice was simply between dominating everyone or losing.
I sometimes think programming and computer stuff can be similar, everyone knows a kid who is a "computer genius" but in reality that can mean anything from knowing how to re-install Windows and fix basic computer problems to someone who hacks on the Linux kernel for fun.