# Is it me, or are software geeks generally more knowledgeable than others? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 27, 2005, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-are-software-geeks-generally-more-knowledgeable-than-others/314397 "2005-07-27T12:20:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-are-software-geeks-generally-more-knowledgeable-than-others/314397/21 "2005-07-27T18:21:05Z")
> [@lno](#): > > Software programmers more knowledgeable? Smarter than the average bear? Language skills? Comprehension? They’re meticulous? No. No, not only no, but _good God, no, what are you, nuts_? Bravo, bravo. I work with some pretty brilliant people, for which I am thankful. However, the vast majority of programmers that I’ve known are not particularly sharp, especially when it comes to communication skills and English grammar. As **Small Clanger** said, the best programmers do tend to have a broad knowledge base; however, the same can be said of many other fields. In addition, I believe that comparatively few programmers actually fall into that category. Heck, I’ve given up on trying to convince CS grads that object-orientation involves more than just having private data and public functions! I don’t see any particular passion for learning on the part of most of these guys. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-are-software-geeks-generally-more-knowledgeable-than-others/314397/22 "2005-07-27T18:55:45Z")
I might actually qualify as one of the people identified in the OP and I would have to say that I have no idea how anyone could make such a generalized statement about programmers–even good ones. I have been in many shops with outstanding programmers and I’ve never been in a shop where I was not the “resource” person for every topic outside programming. In fact, one of the few downsides I have found in my profession has been that I need to go find non-programmers to talk about any topics beyond sports and politics–and a lot of their political opinions have been taken from talk radio. Art? Religion? Literature? History? Architecture? Physics? Biology? Astronomy? Geology? Music? Language (aside from C++, COBOL, or Java feuds)? From _programmers_? bwahahahahahahahahahahaa! (I am quite sure that I am _not_ the only broadly educated programmer on the planet, or even in Cleveland, but I find the notion that there is a general trend among programmers toward a universal education to be pretty humorous.) My brother suffers from the opposite impression. He has, on several occasions, been accused of lying about what he really did for a living after entering a discussion on some wide range of topics, then mentioning that he is an engineer. In fact, there _are_ (some) engineers who are, indeed, well read and well informed. I cannot think of any one career (outside some teaching careers) where well-rounded individuals are really clustered. I find that such people are scattered across all the various professions and trades. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-are-software-geeks-generally-more-knowledgeable-than-others/314397/23 "2005-07-28T00:22:22Z")
All I know is most of the programmers I works with, and basically all of the electrical engineers say, “I knew that”, a lot. I’ve heard the term insecure-ego-maniacs to describe these people. But all in all, most of them are really pretty good folks, with a dose or strange foibles. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-me-or-are-software-geeks-generally-more-knowledgeable-than-others/314397.md?page=1)