You don't need to be able to write down in a blank sheet what you actually want to do if you don't need someone else to do what you want to do.
Software developers aren't special in this sense - even when writing our own software we can't do what you want. This is why "scratching your own itch" is so much easier than the alternative. You reduce the "is this what I really want?" loop by an order of magnitude by cutting out most of the people from the process.
> You don't need to be able to write down in a blank sheet what you actually want to do if you don't need someone else to do what you want to do.
This.
Why is it so hard for developers to understand this simple idea?
Life in computing would be so much easier if the people building the system understood what part of their job is essential (finding out the best way to arrange hardware and software to satisfy a requirement) and which part is circumstancial, gathering a set of precise requirements to begin with.
The last part wouldn't be needed if end users were able to build their own working prototypes to solve their needs, and engineers were simply called to rebuild the prototype with best engineering practices.
Software developers aren't special in this sense - even when writing our own software we can't do what you want. This is why "scratching your own itch" is so much easier than the alternative. You reduce the "is this what I really want?" loop by an order of magnitude by cutting out most of the people from the process.