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I'm a good programmer. Many people I know professionally may call me more than that.

I have a friend who, when he does stuff, I can look at and say that there is no-way I would ever come up with that. Once I've seen it, I can say that I could repeat that, given some time, but that isn't the same as coming up with the original idea and implementing it really well

That is a great programmer.

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Can you give an example of something that, when you look at it, you just know you would've never been able to make by yourself?

"implementing it really well" mostly comes from dedication and attention to detail, in my opinion. And of course, you have to actually care about the thing you're doing, and always keep in mind the user's experience.

I always point to a lot of the early work from John Carmack on 3d engines. There's a certain level of innovation and creativity in his mind that I may never have, at least when it comes to solving programming problems.

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