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> the best coder I ever hired taught herself to code while getting off heroin in a Glasgow slum

Those words bust the biggest bias I realized I had/have - against addicts. Thank you very much!

I said she was a great coder. I didn't say she was trustworthy. She eventually left the industry to go be pretty at gamblers in a casino where she could earn a lot more money for a lot less effort. My co-manager's blatant sexism also contributed to this. I often wonder whether she got back into coding, but lost touch years ago (this was pre-LinkedIn obviously).

"Never trust a junkie" is still very good advice.

Talent at coding doesn't automatically come with the personality or the temperament to be a good career software dev.

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