"The Guru Myth"

[palistov]

Consider a chef or cook -- it isn't expected of a cook to give me his or her recipe and extremely detailed (down to the letter) instructions on how to create it, just because I dined at his or her restaurant. That's probably not how great chefs become great chefs. Now with that in mind, consider a very talented programmer. I can assure you, even with my relatively low amount of "formal" training, that reading a tutorial (recipe) won't get you there. As the author of the article mentioned, "a guru is a smart person with relentless curiosity". If you don't experiment and practice and run the process of evaluating and addressing problems, you'll never become a great programmer (or chef! I can't cook for #@&%).

It's like blazing a trail in the jungle. If you come across some thick foliage, what are you going to do? Sit down, and wait for an experienced trailblazer to come along and show you how to cut it down? No, you start swinging, that's what I would do.