Well, it’s simple and to the point. What does it mean if someone answers “I hope not”? Because I think that’s the answer I’d give.
And now I’m trying to remember if I’ve ever been asked that, on finding myself in a new context…
Heh, fair enough. I’ve been fortunate to have never really worked with idiots (they probably don’t last long in the field), but certainly some less-experienced developers, often fresh out of software boot camp. At least they were trainable.
“You have to better explain and document this, not just for the rest of us, but for yourself… both to double-check the code is doing what you think it’s doing, and as a reminder to yourself next year when you need to look at it again.”
That works on newcomers. Not so much on the superstar geniuses who think they’re infallible. Those guys are different. If you show them an algorithm that improves performance by 0.17%, they’ll spend hours analyzing it and trying to make it reach 0.172% instead. If you ask them to spend 3 seconds writing // a short explanatory comment, they’ll just chuckle and think you’re joking.
In our particular department we have a lot of years of experience in a facility where instruction for new hires on how to get things done is lacking. So we try to act as resources to get these people up and running and be as productive as possible.
The signs someone is going to be a problem is when they mistake “resource” for “someone who will do it for me”.
I’ll make time for anyone who approaches with “Can you help me” or “can you show me”. The one who ask “Can you do this for me” I learn to avoid.
One year our chairman decided he needed an office manager. The first person he got was obviously over-qualified. Effective, friendly, infinitely helpful; the office ran like a dream; everyone loved her. Then she decided to get a master’s in psychology and hang out a shingle. This had worked so well, the chairman replaced her. With someone from another dept who came highly recommended. The reason for the recommendation was that they were trying to get rid of her. Soon we were too. The first thing she did was lock the office door so that any professor wanting to get into the office had to get someone to let them in. Why the chairman allowed her to do this escapes me. She was unpleasant, unhelpful and worst of all, if you needed a paper typed you had to give it to her and she would assign the typist, although you might prefer someone already familiar with your work. Eventually, she left, saying the professors were very uncooperative. Wonder why. She was not replaced; the office ran better without her.