The Problem With 'Above Average Programmers'

"Being an expert means you know it all about your subject. Unfortunately, it also means you’re going to get lazy. It means you’re going to eventually rest on your laurels and sit around thinking you’re better than everyone else instead of actually working to get there. Your expertise will become a liability because you stop trying to learn. Maybe not today, but soon enough."

(I look at my bookshelves, recent Amazon.com purchasing history and piles of books I'm in the process of reading or have queued up.)

Uh, right.

"So what’s the number one thing you can do to be the best programmer out there? Start by considering yourself below average."

But that's stupid if it's not true. "Know thyself" is one of the cardinal rules in this game. If I thought myself below average in this field, I'd spend my time in another where I know I'm above average (e.g. chemistry) and I wouldn't try to tackle some hard problems I'm looking at, including a few I don't think it's likely I'll be able to contribute to.

Author has confused experts with people who don't continually learn.

An interesting article, but it seems like the author is drawing the incorrect conclusions from the Dunning-Kruger effect (which I found to be a MUCH a more fascinating and informative read).