The Expert Beginner

In The Expert Beginner, Dietrich traces the path of this
programmer from rise to inevitable downfall. The author describes the
development of the expert beginner’s mindset, explaining how one might believe
in the achievement of total mastery while faced with evidence to the contrary.
He then shows how, if put in a position of power, this person will poison
entire software groups and create a culture of stagnation. Part commentary on
technical groups and part sociological analysis/office taxonomy, The Expert
Beginner tells a story. This story, as it turns out, is about more than
just an individual programmer or software groups. It is about a tragedy writ
large, coloring all aspects of our culture even beyond the world of computer
science.