

Authority and Paying Your Dues - zacharyvoase
http://www.garann.com/dev/2012/authority-and-paying-your-dues/

======
zacharyvoase
I posted this link because I felt it merited discussion and response.

I should disclose that I'm writing this as a young (by most estimations)
caucasian male, with an above-average earning power (compared to non-engineers
of my demographic), and a relatively comfortable childhood background.

I’m surprised the author didn't mention the Dunning-Kruger effect (i.e.
ignorance begets confidence). Growing up, I knew this by the proverb ‘the
empty can rattles the most’. Looking back on my own short career, I certainly
recognise that I was at my most arrogant when I was at my most naïve. If I'd
known then what I now know I didn't know then—and mostly don't know now—I
would have been a less outspoken individual. Perhaps most notably, I wouldn't
have bullshat my way into certain situations which caused me to grow: had I
known the limits of my own knowledge, I would have remained firmly within
them.

There's a great verb in British English: to _blag_ something. To blag
something is to obtain it by deception or rhetoric, a kind of ‘sleight of
mouth’. The darker side of the same coin is the _con_ (or _confidence trick_
), but blagging implies a less grave offense. I am where I am right now
because I blagged my way into circles, positions, and jobs I had no proper
right to be—I had no experience, little knowledge, and lacked respect for my
elders (figuratively and literally speaking). But when you're thrown in at the
deep end, your only choice is to swim.

I’d like to posit a hypothesis. It’s well-known that men are more abundant in
the field of Computing than women, and maybe it’s precisely because women are
more humble and rational—they aren’t deceived by the same arrogance that
testosterone induces. Anecdotally, I’ve known more women than men refrain from
applying for a job because they believe it’s beyond their current ability. But
at the end of the day, none of us really know what we’re doing. The field of
Computer Science is still going through puberty, and we’re wandering around in
the dark finding out these amazing and heretofore unknown truths about these
fabulous little machines.

I’m reminded of David Letterman's interview with Grace Hopper, when he asked
her about her work on the Harvard Mark I. He said: “How did you know so much
about computers?” and she replied “I didn’t, it was the first one.”
(<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ0g5_NgRao>)

------
boboblong
For what it's worth, the author is filtering critical comments.

