PEP 526 - var annotations and the spirit of python

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Mon, 02 Jul 2018 18:20:53 -0700, Jim Lee wrote:

> On 07/02/18 17:51, Steven D'Aprano wrote:
>>
>> For most of us mere mortals, the "ten thousand hours" rule of thumb
>> applies.
>>
>> Ten thousand hours should be read as an indefinitely large number
>>
>>> A truly good programmer will be able to learn about the language being
>>> used on the job.
>> Indeed, if you don't mind paying them for the couple of weeks it takes
>> them to come up to speed on the language and the couple of years it
>> takes to master it.
> 
> So we went from 10,000 hours, to infinite, and then back to a couple of
> years?

I said *indefinite* not infinite.

You did read the article I linked to, right? You know that people don't 
suddenly and instantly turn from "beginner" to "expert" when they exceed 
9,999 hours 59 minutes and 59 seconds? Quibbling over the exact number of 
hours is foolish.

Ten thousand hours is a nice round number, and should not be considered 
more precise than an order of magnitude estimate ("more than 1000 hours, 
less than 100,000 hours, on average").

But for what it's worth, if you estimate that the average dedicated 
developer programs 8 hours a day for 330 days a year, between paid work, 
overtime, private projects, and directed study, 10,000 hours works out at 
a bit less than four years.

Or as my wife would say, "did you mean an Aussie couple or an actual 
couple?" I meant an Aussie couple, which could be anything from two to 
four or five. Six at a stretch. As in, "no worries mate, it'll be ready 
in a coupla days."



-- 
Steven D'Aprano
"Ever since I learned about confirmation bias, I've been seeing
it everywhere." -- Jon Ronson