If you're a software developer, chances are you've heard of Price's Law. But what does it really mean, and why does it matter? Simply put, Price's Law states that in any given field, the square root of the number of people in that field will produce half of the output.
So for example, for a company of 16 people, 50% of the work is done by 4 engineers.
For a team of 100 people, 10 engineers do half the work.
For a project of 10,000 people, 100 do half the work.
A small number of top performers are responsible for the majority of the work.
Looking at popular open source projects we see just how true Price's Law is. A study of the top 1000 contributors to the Linux kernel found that just 10% of them were responsible for over 80% of the code contributions. Similarly, a study of the top 1000 contributors to the Apache Hadoop project found that just 11% of them were responsible for over 90% of the code contributions.
As a software developer, I really fancy being one of these overperforming wizards. You know, the guys who seem to effortlessly crank out code that is miles ahead of everyone else's. The ones who push the boundaries of what is possible and leave their mark on the industry.
These numbers are staggering, and they show just how important it is to strive to be one of the top performers in our field. The question is, can anyone become an overperforming wizard, or are they just born that way?
While there is no clear-cut answer, for me, I am constantly pushing myself to learn new skills and take on challenging projects. It means seeking out mentorship and guidance, and being willing to put in the extra time and effort to produce high-quality work.
But it's not just about hard work. It's also about having a passion for software development and a DEEP understanding of the underlying technologies. Take George Hotz, for example. He became famous in the early 2000s for jailbreaking the iPhone and developing a self-driving car. His success was due in part to his incredible coding skills, but also to his deep understanding of the inner workings of technology.
Or take Michael Carmichael, another top performer in the field of software development. Carmichael is the founder of the popular open source project, the SaltStack configuration management system. His success is due to his deep knowledge of software development and his ability to build a community of contributors around his project.
The bottom line is, becoming an overperforming wizard in software development is possible, but it takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and passion. Anime has taught me that while not everyone may be born with the natural ability to excel in this field, anyone can improve their skills with practice and dedication.
I really wonder if I will ever be one of the greats. At least by my own standards.
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