Ask HN: Are you a bad software engineer if you don't have strong opinions?

My $0.02 -- be yourself. Allow yourself to be a human. Humans have strong opinions sometimes. Sometimes they don't. Don't place too much value on micro-characteristics like "this awesome software engineer always uses gdb" or "this magnificent coder only debugs with printf". The reality is that always using debuggers or never using debuggers is probably not what makes these people magnificently awesome in your opinion.

Keep an open mind. Learn from others do and adopt the practices you like. It's fine if you develop strong opinions as you go along, but don't be an ass about it.

There is a broad confusion between being provocative and being intelligent. (This, I recognize, is a strong opinion.)

100% no. Don't bother replying. I can't be convinced otherwise.

You don’t become a good software engineer because you have strong opinions.

You become a good software engineer despite having strong opinions.

Good engineers are confident in what they know and confidently unconfident in what they don't know.

100% yes. Don't bother replying. I can't be convinced otherwise.

apathy has to do with environment not skill. if you find yourself increasingly apathetic, consider changing your environment. follow your interests!