Discussion on: 7 Signs That You're a Good Developer

Hmm, some thoughts:

• I think an article that's framed as "if you have these traits, you're a good dev" isn't really particularly useful and is arguably exclusionary. It might be better to frame an article as "here are some ways to become a better developer" rather than "if this random list of traits is true of you, you're (magically) a good dev".
• #2 (like others have said) is straight up not true. I've been writing code for decades (I wrote my first program around 1991 -- yay Turbo Pascal!), have held "senior software developer" titles at multiple jobs, etc, and I on a daily basis get stuck and require assistance. And it's not just me: I've seen some of the most gifted, talented, prolific developers I've worked with get stumped like anyone else. The thing that makes them so great is that they recognize that fact early, check their ego at the door, and ask for help when they need it, not "work independently and have faith that they can accomplish this task on their own". It is true that self-sufficiency is a useful skill, but that's not the same thing as "if you're good, then you don't need help"
• "If you're already a good developer then there is no reason in reading this article! You know everything that was written here" -- I guess I'm not a good developer since (even with decades of experience) I don't know everything that was written here. See how that language is exclusionary? Can you imagine how someone who's newer to development might read it and feel completely defeated?
• "Programming Isn't The Only Thing That They're Good at" -- this I agree with, though kind of trivially so? Like everyone is good at more than their chosen profession. Maybe that wasn't the intent of this section though, maybe the intent was to convey that you don't have to devote every last second of your waking hours to becoming a better developer/it's good & useful to have other interests, which I do agree with.
• "Developers are self-taught" -- this also feels untrue given my experiences. While personally i was in fact (largely) self-taught (well, sort of: I started on my own, and then after years of playing around did a CS degree or two), I've known a lot of great devs who never wrote a line of code until day 1 of their intro to CS class. Different people learn in different ways. Some people thrive in formal learning environments, and some are more self-directed, both paths are equally valid.