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> If you spent twenty years being called a "smart kid" [...] you may have a rock-solid self-image.

This is, of course, why we programmers are famous for the delight we take in coding on a whiteboard in front of a large audience; the comfortable ease with which we talk to beautiful members of the opposite sex; and the fact none of us have ever been described as shy :)

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Look at it this way: we're all convinced the problem is the whiteboard interview itself, it couldn't possibly be that we're not as smart as we think we are.

That's some pretty strong self-image of the "I'm a smart kid" sort.

The problem is interruptions, not my ability to focus.

The problem is Product demanding estimates, not my ability to estimate in the midst of uncertainty and ask questions to reduce it.

The problem is Java, C, or whatever "legacy" technology is being used. Despite the fact that the whole world runs on it.

One can have social anxiety and a rock-solid self-image as a scientist at the same time. The latter requires no social or synchronous communication skills.

Like everything else, it's contextual.

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