why more discussion of samba development?

[Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton]

On Tue, Jan 08, 2002 at 04:15:13PM -0800, Andrew Tridgell wrote:
> > i explained each piece of the architecture to andrew
> > and he got more and more out of his depth.
> > 
> > he didn't want to admit it or lose control over the code.
> 
> Quick translation for those who haven't tried to code with Luke.
> When Luke says "X was getting out of his depth" it means "X didn't
> agree with Luke". 
 
 ah... it's worse than that.

 i've since discovered something called "asperger's syndrome".
 it's a form of autism.  both gates and einstein are known to
 have asperger's syndrome behaviour patterns.

 symptoms of people with aspergers are:

 - ability to recognise patterns [the most extreme example
 is in the film "mercury rising"].
 
 - ability come up with both the answer and the question before
 anyone else has even recognised the problem, but yet be unable
 to explain the intermediate steps on how they derived _either_
 the question _or_ the answer!

 - ability to focus 100% on one single thing, to the detriment
 of everything else

 - communication difficulties and lack of social skills unless
 they specifically see a need for specific communication
 abilities and specific social skills (!!!)

 - inability to cope with interruptions in established
 routines, which leads people to conclude that they cannot
 take on responsibility.

 - require very specific and precise instructions in new
 situations and scenarios ["please get me one blue cup in
 the kitchen in _this_ house, from the cupboard at head-height
 third on the left as you go through the door".  numbering
 the cupboards according to a chessboard pattern helps
 such people _enormously_.]

 
 in short: i am such a person.  i can spot things and come
 up with an optimal solution that other people have _no clue_
 as to how i derived it - and for the most part, neither do
 i.

 when an explanation is requested, i cannot provide one.

 when requested to clean up the implementation, i conclude
 that it is a waste of my time [for reasons which are
 considered unacceptable but i consider perfectly valid],
 and i don't do it.

 when asked a question, i cannot answer directly because
 the issues involved are so layered and complex that
 by the time i have explained the issues, the original
 question is forgotten, everyone's tired, bewildered,
 confused, fed up, or getting "out of their depth".

 at some point, you have to take such people on trust,
 at face value, and simply track them as best you can
 _all of the time_.

 if you don't, you stand to get left behind _really_
 quickly: a matter of weeks is almost acceptable.

 a matter of months is stretching it, and a matter of
 years of leaving such people to their own devices is
 simply unacceptable.

 and _that_, andrew and jeremy, is what you did.

 you got on with your phd, andrew.

 you got on with samba 2.0 [an early version of the
 samba TNG code.  _really_ early], jeremy.

 and basically, you got "out of your depth".  i created
 in three years a codebase that would probably take you
 thirty years to reproduce, if you didn't already have
 my code to use as a guide.

 
 now, you may call me an egotistical maniac for being
 able to claim that i can do far better than you, or
 anyone else.

 _i can't_.  i have a specific skillset and capabilities.

 i know my limitations and abilities, and one of my
 abilities is that i recognise and acknowledge my faults,
 and have low self-esteem.

 do you know yours?