François CholletVerified account

Writing code is about making your computer do what you need. Writing good code is about enabling teams of strangers 5 years from now to make their computers do what they need.

Side note: this is why autodidacts who work alone never write good code. They simply don't face the kind of requirements that lead to writing good code.

You may not like it, not it's true. It doesn't matter how smart you are or how clever your code looks. I have never seen a lone wolf write good code. It doesn't happen for the same reason that someone who plays basketball exclusively on their own cannot become a great player.

You won't magically acquire skills that you've never practiced, even if you're an absolute genius. You can't excel at a team sport by training exclusively solo. I have seen many coders and never saw an exception to this rule.

Including my own code from before I joined the industry 10 years ago. It did the job but it wasn't readable or maintainable. Because I simply never faced these constraints. You can't be good at something difficult you've never done.

And FYI, if you learn via contact with others, through mentorship, teamwork, and collective projects, then by definition you are not an autodidact (self-taught). Being "self-taught" doesn't mean "didn't go to college". It means you learned on your own.