It blows my mind that this is so contentious and the only reason why seems to be that programmers think their job is unique or something.

Are there people who are 10x better than others at a skill? Obviously. This is blatantly true in every human pursuit to ever exist. Why is the idea that som individuals are 10x better at this one skill than other individuals so mind blowing?

Programming isn't unique, it isn't special, its just a skill like anything else, and like anything else there is a variety of skill levels.