The down side of being a dumb soldier programmer is that it’s really really hard to find sympathy when people complain about how hard life is when they are utterly reliant on a bunch of abstractions and clutter to do their jobs for them.
You'll be surprised how hard this is for many people. I was surprised by how many really struggled through the first introductory programming course in university.
Math isn't that hard. But for almost everyone it requires a lot of work to get to the next level. Some of the same skills transfer. Something too removed from where you are feels very alien, partly because of language, symbols, conventions, etc. and also not having the building blocks/theories etc.
This isn't what I'm trying to say, I'm just saying that someone that can become good at programming could become good at advanced mathematics. If your criteria for good in advanced math is a phd then we disagree.
> They take different skills and personalities
I disagree, I think the skills are largely the same. Programming is literally encoding logic using a programming language which requires mathematical reasoning ability. Programming is more immediately practical, accessible and requires fewer credentials and that's why I think more people become good at it than math.
I have absolutely no problem being a 10x developer. While I might be a better than average developer I am not more than 10x more talented than my peers.
I have no problem achieving 10x status because I ask better questions and loathe doing repetitive work, especially out of social conformance. It completely blows my mind that most people strive first for emotional comfort, especially amongst a social reference group. Any effort moving in the opposite direction of that emotional comfort results in fear and possibly anxiety.
That is why I abhor software as a career. As a dumb soldier I feel like I am the least educated in the room and my delivery is inversely proportional to that. That is because, as a dumb soldier, I focus first on delivery. Focusing on delivery first means knowing the end state and cutting out all the bullshit in the middle. Military people think like that because they are highly assertive. The average software developer is meek.
Can you see the friction that follows? You have this dumb guy with less education that is a 10x developer but not because they are better at writing software. Nonetheless the output executes much faster with greater durability written in a fraction of the time only because of a difference in value system. That leaves the dumb soldier believing they are surrounded by a bunch of cowards.