I think one difference that I've seen is that the US has a very different attitude toward computer programming. In the US it's more glamorous? That's not the right word, but it seems like when I talk to a number of foreign developers who emigrated to the US, it's more about being a good job than it is about being a genius hacker, rich by 25, or being a technical tour de force. I see a lot more women overseas who become programmers. Maybe because the culture is different, and becoming a programmer is like becoming an architect or engineer?

I think that different culture might self-select US developers the same way top schools produce highly motivated, successful people because they recruit highly motivated, successful kids. Not to say every US developer wants to climb to the top of some technical or economic mountain, but it seems like maybe there's a smudge more passion among US developers. Also, intelligent, math oriented individuals have other avenues in the US, like finance, (and unlike the rest of the world) dentistry and medicine are lucrative careers. Meaning you choose programming more because you want to program, but in other countries it's because it's a better paying job.

I've also noticed that in some countries, once you've done a few years writing code, you quickly want to join management ranks and develop a coding allergy. More so than in the US, where it seems like 50 year old developers still want to write code. I get the sense that, in some countries, if you don't get into management then you are a failure at some level. So in the US you can find someone with 10+ years experience developing software, but in other countries you just have people who've stagnated and never moved up.

I dunno.