I am confused by the immediateness of this going to the top of HN, it seems to lack any real substance.

As others have said, people don't call themselves 'rock stars' and 'ninjas', people look for them. Beyond that, using the definition that refers to the traditional use of the words rather than the idiosyncratic ones to show you don't want a 'ninja' or 'rockstar' is so fucking cheap it hurts.