There is a pervasive problem in the IT field today. It first came to my attention when I got started using Unix/Linux many, many years ago. I noticed that many of the self-proclaimed "geeks" took immense pride in remembering all of the minutiae of the system (memorization of vocational info - yeah, real impressive) and reacted with contempt to anyone who dared ask questions or try to understand. These same guys could be pimply-faced boys living in their parent's basement, but from the way they spoke they obviously thought of themselves as gods. Maybe it's because IT is dominated by men, but this is a rather common phenomenon. Some guy who owned a computer store in my city actually called me an “idiot” several years ago and hung up on me because I told him I wanted to use Intel processors. Apparently he was an AMD guy. He lost several thousand dollars for his arrogance/pride that day because I was purchasing 10 machines for the hardware lab at my company. He's no longer in business - big surprise.

Last but not least are software developers. Sorry guys/gals, but you are not immune from this phenomenon. When you hear a developer exclaiming how great he is, be skeptical - especially if you're interviewing him. Typically, the loud exclamations of "I'm [one of] the best...in [some geographic area/category]" are meant to direct your attention away from serious flaws (The misdirection is probably not intentional, but rather a side effect of delusions of grandeur.). Either that or he may have an inferiority complex. Have a look around. The real badasses of software development (e.g. all 4 members of the Java Posse, Josh Bloch, Brian Goetz, Bruce Eckel, just to name a few in the Java world) typically never talk about themselves in this way. Why? Because they are good and they know it and there's no need to broadcast it. Many of them are/were probably also not satisfied with where they are/were and want to be better. That's not to say they don't know how to sell themselves, but I guarantee you'll never hear Dick Wall saying, "I'm the best Java developer...blah blah blah" And what is "best" anyway? Consider this. Confidence speaks volumes without having to literally speak voluminously. Less is often more. And if you find yourself needing to tell other people how great you are, ask yourself why. Why does it matter? If you truly are "the best" then shouldn’t they have already heard of you from someone other than yourself? We all struggle with the ego, especially if we exceed our own goals/expectations. This is normal. Some of us react by thinking, “Wow – look how awesome I am.” Others realize that if we ever exceed our expectations then they were too low to begin with.

I don’t really expect my little diatribe to really change the way most people think of themselves. In fact, the people I’m talking about are probably well insulated or immune from such reason. But for those of you still able to objectively examine yourself: Nosce te ipsum. It’s easier said than done, but I think the journey will get you farther in life than profuse exclamations.

Seen this. Too much.

If someone goes out of their way to tell me how brilliant they are, it actually tells me something completely different. It tells me they have some kind of investment in others believing they're all that. It also says that deep down they don't really believe the assertion any more than I do. The amount of arrogance seems to go up with level of indivdual insecurity. The unwillingness to pass on their great knowledge is generally the final sign that this person is a puffer fish with feet.

When someone starts to view understanding as a commodity and tries to dole out information out in the most minute amounts, they're essentially saying they fear others knowing more than them. Who cares if someone knows more that you? Then you can ask them stuff! But in the small minded world of the info tyrant, it just doesn't work that way. The final coffin nail in this kind of profile is the inability to admit failure. The investment in always being right is so high. Since you don't really learn anything except from your mistakes, such a person has effectively put themselves in learning stasis. Perhaps only learning more when others aren't watching.

Such people don't piss me off. They're often very bright. That they've locked themselves away like that generally just makes me sad.

That occurs because people are worried about job security. As soon as the guy below you knows more then you, you're out the door.


Which is not necessarily true, but people are afraid to "train their replacements" like in the military.

Very interesting topic.

I have worked in every aspect of the internet world. The A+ certified people seem to be the most arrogant of the bunch. I can say from my experiences that the best programmers I have known do not sport an ego, and are actually the most humble individuals. Ask a question and they will offer up guidance in how to solve certain issues. These are great people to have on your team, and usually are the ones with the bigger paychecks as well. The programmers I worked with were the best bunch of people I worked with in a long time.

There are the few that try to dumb you down, and I do agree with KYA for some especially in ITS vs ISS. The IT people are afraid to train their replacements and some of them will try and make you feel like a complete idiot.

The IT & ISS fields are not going anywhere soon, it is one of the most populating and demanding fields in the world.



This post has been edited by Nykc: 3 Jun, 2009 - 07:04 AM

That's a valid concern, to be sure. But can find this kind of behavior in the teenager at the local electronics store. And a myriad of places where job security is not the issue; only ego.

At it's heart it's basically juvenile, "Ha ha, I know something you don't!" Those who feel the most powerless tend to power trip the hardest.

I've run into some issues myself with this (I think we all have). It drives me crazy when anyone, in anything tries to act like they are better than anyone else at anything. I usually try to run low key and I KNOW (as I have found on this board an in other places) that I am not the best and probably never will be - but I do have something to offer.

I don't understand why some people feel as though they need to belittle people when they themselves were in the same place not long before. A lot of times in the IT world I feel as though I am a freshman in the weight room being made fun of by the Seniors. Luckily WE stuck it out and can help the new freshman.

On a side note however, I have been labeled as arrogant and cocky by some of my workmates and I never try to proclaim myself as the best. What I think it is is I start using 'Geek Speak' and they take it as I am talking down to them or that they are stupid. Quite the contrary, anyone else ever had this happen?

Theres nothing that i hate more than working with know it alls. Theres no doubt that the IT world is full of them for some reason. I most definitely go out of my way to not come across as one, even though I do have confidence in my skills.

pride comes before the fall. it's better to have your work do the talking rather than you boasting about how good you are, at least that my opinion. just do the best that you can and if you end up being great, accept it, don't brag, and just keep doing your work.

Like others, I've encountered this attitude (IT ego referred to by Programmist) more than once, especially at the hiring level. Although I don't immediately dismiss people like that (I believe that many achievers have a healthy self confidence), it does make me cut them less slack. I'm a huge believer in say/do...you can talk, but you better be able to back it up. the minute I see more talk than do - you're gone.

That being said, there is a point one can pass (illustrated well by Baavgai - post content, not Baavgai himself ) where there confidence is masking flaws of course...and the tendency to treat information as something to be doled out in small packages certainly points to a larger attitudinal problem.

Speaking about ego in software development, just take a look at the major freelancing websites. Take a close look at what the bidding developers affirm about themselves. How many tiumes can you count "The best in <insert language here>" or "Your search ends here because I am the best". You will probably need a calculator to count. Unfortunately, most of the developers there consider that the attribute "The best" will give them more chances. If I would be the one who would need to accept one of those bids, I would just ignore the ones with "The best" in the description. You have to earn the authority in a specific domain. As said before, the really best developers never called themselves so. They were recognized so by the development community. If you are the best, then you are not the one whos should tell about that.

I know what you all mean. I'm the only sophomore in a programming class full of juniors (I had to get special dispensation to take it as a sophomore). Of course, they all initially looked down on me and were jealous of me being in that class. So the first week, I had to be super arrogant and answer all the questions correctly and better than the teacher's answers/ideas. After that week, they all accepted me and now come to me for serious help so I was able to come back down to earth. All these juniors are cool, and none of them have learned anything from this class. Oh well. I've made some new acquaintances, and there is a mutual respect within the students in this class. And it's not like I enjoy showing off, but I had to establish myself in there first.

Junior...sophomore...what's the difference? Anyone who would look down/up to someone who is one year ahead/behind them in college has a warped sense of reality. I've never felt the need to prove myself to anyone in any of my college classes, but then again I started college a few years after getting out of the Navy, so I was quite a bit older and more experienced than pretty much everyone in my classes, so maybe my experience is not the norm.

It's not college yet. It's high school. And I agree with you, especially since I'm taking the most advanced courses possible for a sophomore, most of which are on par with the juniors. And usually I don't feel the need to prove myself, but I didn't want 4-6 monkeys on my cased the entire year, so... *sighs* I guess I did what I had to do. But now everyone is cool, and they all come to me for help in handling the teacher and completing assignments. So I guess that the ends justified the means.

Oh, so I got this all wrong...I thought I had to be near master before I could start browbeating everybody. I've been wasting precious time, got to find somebody who don't know programming and step on them.

Brilliant Pwn
It's a bit like the evil side of that old poster.
"Life is best when you are young and still know everything."

Oooh - yeah - don't know what to tell you man. High school is a whole different ballgame. You're dealing with kids (validating my "warped sense of reality" comment), many of whom down't really want to be there.

Yeah. And the sad thing is it's not just the kids who were threatened by my abilities; my teacher was too. But like I said, as the year wore on the kids all came to me for help. Plus we were united against an a-hole teacher. Oh well, the year's over now and I know I'll have a good web design/development teacher, and hopefully a good AP CS teacher for next year!

Anyways, I've got a philosophy I try to live by in terms of keeping my ego in check. I feel that it's okay to have an ego/pride, however, to not let your ego actually exceed your abilities. What I mean is, if you can do actions a, b and c, it's okay to say so. However, it is not okay to think you're the best in the world b/c you can do a, b and c. It's worked well for me thus far, and I developed it after maturing some in my first couple months in high school. Believe me, I had to do some major ego deflating and tone down some. I was freakin' intense.

knowles is clearly the best. dont be so sure maco^ passive ego is still ego wearing a camouflage shirt. its not like anyones going around being a boob on purpose. we do it to each other by making a game out of it. if you want to be egoless then get your ego out of the way by expressing it often enough until your tank runs empty.

thats sucks about the intel-hater guy. i feel bad for him but more for his family. guys/girls like that make people around them kookoo and get infected with the ego bug just to compete in retaliation. but it makes for good Court TV episodes