this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2026
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I don't know what those first two sentences are doing. This kind of thing is exactly what mesmerized young me and puts wise me off.
One thing worse than appealing to authority is appealing to your own authority.
Sometimes 20 years of experience is really just 2 years of experience repeated 10 times.
Having time in the seat doesn't necessarily mean you've progressed your learning beyond a certain point.
Are you yakko's alt?
Yes, that's true. I wouldn't say that that entirely fits Bob, but the point stands. He strikes me as having eventually stopped being capable of Beginner's Mind.
Those two sentences just prove that the whole thing is made up. If he started coding in the 60s, he'd have to be over 80 now.
Born in 1952: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_C._Martin
It says there that he joined the industry when he was 17, which means after December 1969. So by late 60s he really means the 70s.
He could've been coding as hobby before it I suppose.
Maybe he was born in 1969 and started coding at 6 months old.
Those sentences prove nothing of the sort. And you really have no reason to get that arithmetic so wrong. And you could have looked it up instead of guessing. He has a Wikipedia page.
He was born in 1952.
There are good reasons not to follow him. No need to invent bad ones. That only hurts the credibility of people decrying him in public.