[kwlug-disc] Security arguments

[Chris Frey]

On Fri, Oct 02, 2009 at 09:39:03AM -0400, Khalid Baheyeldin wrote:
> I would not as far as to call it "guts", but there is certainly a fear
> factor involved, like other things that most people dread (public
> speaking, ...etc.).

What I mean by "guts" is a willingness to fall on your face in public.
And this happens not just at the start, but at every sub-starting point
of your project, when you tackle something new.

Imagine Linus Torvalds being confronted with something core to kernel
programming that he doesn't know.  (Work with me here.) :-)  It would
take some guts to admit it  openly and ask for help.  Conversely, pride
might motivate the project leader to learn quickly in order to save face.
Either tactic benefits the project (and can happen together), but I would
argue that it takes a more skilled person to regularly pull off the second
method.  There's always a risk you'll fall on your face.  Might as well
manage that risk with some humility and guts... the community notices.

Perhaps this is just my personality, but I would not want to be in
Dan Bernstein's shoes.  He's set himself up on such a high pedestal
that the fall would be pretty severe.  Fortunately for him, he's doing
ok so far. :-)

Even Donald Knuth has had to pay for TeX bugs.

- Chris


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