But, I still manage to be in the middle of meaningful discussion, and contribute something worthwhile here and there. Even got a few thank-you notes over a 2 year period.
Tldr: Helps with imposter syndrome.
Great observation, and appreciate it.
I am a hobby programmer. I spend quite a lot of time doing programming challenges (Euler, cryptopals, advent of code) and amateur robotics.
Most of the programmers I meet are a result of a shorter non-CS education focusing on getting them employable, which means they know .net and not much more.
So far I have only met one person in real life that understood anything of what I am doing, even though I have met several people that make a living coding.
Hadn't it been for HN I would believe that undergrad maths from old schoolbooks is actually advanced programming or that moderately advanced scheme macros are dark magic :)
Being here is somewhat good for my hubris, but also pretty often makes me realise I could have a career doing programming if my current line of work doesn't work out.