Brad Wilson calls out Joshua Allen for using "inappropriate tools" in his example weblogging system built with XSLT and make, when he could just write some code. Joshua Allen writes:
The problem with [just writing] code, as I see it, is that there aren't many people who can write code. ... I've seen plenty of people who sat through all of the relevant CS courses and give all indications of knowing the material and concepts flawlessly, but just don't get it when it comes time to write some really simple code. And many of the best programmers I know have come from backgrounds that had nothing to do with computers, and when they started to write code it just clicked for them.
This touches on the strange concept of being able to do this thing other people can't, understanding pointers, and how Dr Nemecek says that software professionals will always be required simply because there are so few of us who simply can do what we do.
It's still unsettling, really, since I truly want to believe anyone can do anything they really want to; instead I have to settle for, "Well, everyone has something they're good at," and hedge against the people I know who (for that to be true) haven't found it yet.
