Impostor Syndrome
I struggle with impostor syndrome. Through this blog, youtube, and meeting others, I’ve always felt that it’s not in my place to contribute.
“Who am I to speak here? There are better people out there who are more qualified, more helpful, and more charismatic than me.”
The plot twist
Recently, I stumbled upon an argument on why it’s our moral imperative to actually show our work. The premises are there
- It costs almost nothing to document our work. (Except time, unless you’re saving the world at night?)
- Our documented work helps people one step behind us to learn.
- It’s immoral to not help someone when it costs nothing on my behalf to help.
Ergo, it is immoral to not show our work.
As a self-taught programmer, the argument is intuitive. I have been on the receiving end of countless Stack Overflow questions, Medium bloggers who documented their project process, Youtube videos who visually explained frameworks, etc.
Curse of the expert
Another struggle that I have is on the principle of Doing no harm, which is the fundamental law in ethics. If the quality of my help is not the best there is, who am I to give it?
Then again, the best help someone can receive on any subject, is the one who
- Understands their present struggles, at the point at which they’re at.
- Is able to explain it to them in a way that’s not too jargonny and densed.
Thus, the best help a person is able to receive, is from the one who is one step ahead of where they are. If we were to be frank, Michael Phelps would be very frustrated if he were to teach my how to swim. The basic strokes are second nature to him, and he’ll have forgotten how he learnt it initially.
Conclusion
If you’re a self-learner, or are doing any project. It is immoral if you don’t share your work, and you are the best help someone needs right now.