Surely, you've heard Larry Wall claim that the best traits a great programmer can possess are Laziness, Impatience, and Hubris. If not, stop right now, read the link, and come back here. I think it is brilliant analysis on Larry's part to tie all of that together, and I also believe it to be true.

In contrast, let me explain why the vice of arrogance can't actually be turned into a virtue for a programmer. I'll even argue that arrogance in a programmer is inversely proportional to their talent. Now, before the hate mail starts pouring in, I'm talking about extremes here. There is a fine line between self-confidence and arrogance. I think it is vital for a programmer to have an abundance of self-confidence. I'm sure there are some in my readership that would even claim I walk that fine line betweeen self-confidence and arrogance from time to time. Self-confidence is good. Programmers can, and do, help shape the world. They build systems that catch criminals, thwart terrorism, pilot airplanes and rockets, map DNA, analyze stock markets, and many other potentially world-changing things. It's only natural to look at what you've created out of thin air and be proud of it, and by extension, gain self-confidence.

However, with apologies to Wall Street, Arrogance, for the lack of a better word, is horrible. It's especially troubling for a programmer to be arrogant while coding. Let's look at some of the main reasons for this claim:

• Arrogance leads you to not question your code. The more talent and experience that I obtain as a programmer, the more I look at my code as the source of the problem first. Most of the time, the problem is in my code. The times that it's a bug elsewhere, I've taken all of the basic steps to gather a test case to prove that it's not my bug. From there, I can either write a work-around, and/or report the bug to the responsible party in a way that allows them to fix the problem easily.
• Arrogance leads you to rely solely on yourself. After all, if you truly are that good, why would you want to take advice from anyone? As a programmer, I relish the opportunity to learn. It doesn't matter where the knowledge comes from. I'm just thankful to gain it. Arrogance closes your options, since the Arrogant Programmer refuses to accept that there are others with an alternative approach.
• Arrogance leads you to write "tricky" code. This make perfect sense, since it clearly demonstrates the superior intellect and raw genius of the Arrogant Programmer. Documentation? Comments? Meaningful identifier names? Pshaw. They're for mere mortals. The Arrogrant Programmer knows the ins and outs of every system, subsystem, and method, and knows that a call could never fail because it has been given life by the Arrogant Programmer. And heaven help the next programmer who dares disturb us to ask why they did such things! Clearly, they are not worthy to breathe the air of the Arrogant Programmer.
• Arrogance is most likely rooted in a false confidence. The Arrogant Programmer may be afraid of not knowing everything, and even more afraid that others will find out that they don't know everything. As a result, the typical mindset is to tear code and people down, instead of building themselves up. You should love working in a team full of great coders. If you want to rise to the top of the top (in anything, IMO), you need to be pushed and challenged. If you find yourself in an environment where you have others keeping you on your toes, it spurs you on to be better than you were before.

So, let's all strive to live by this motto: Friends don't let friends program arrogantly.

Let the flamefest and slashdotting commence!