That's all very well if you're starting an academic job in the 1940s. Being Feynman would not have saved him in 2022.

Feynman downplays his own talent and appetite for work (though he did occasionally talk about the latter), and it's natural to discount anecdotes like this because of that reality. But I don't think that changes the lesson; it means don't take the wrong lesson.

And what are the mediocre coders to do, if only the best coders get hired!