Are they up to speed? Do they know their "stuff"? Are they educated? I took my son to see the doctor the other day. Somehow he developed a chronic paronychia on his finger, which is an infection under the cuticle, and in his case infiltrated under the nail. Initially my wife and I took him to see our family physician, who eventually referred us to an orthopedic surgeon since his finger wasn't improving. When we arrived at the ortho doctor's office we went through the usual paperwork ritual and were soon called to sweat it out in one of the exam rooms. You know the exam rooms I mean, with the counter full of pointy things, the jumbo popsicle stick jar, and sundry tools which must be certified by GM for working on Oldsmobiles. Of course no proper exam room is without the anatomical wall-chart to ensure the physician hits the correct pain receptors during the exam. I digress. As a parent, there are pre-children things that would normally be dismissed or ignored but post-children become causes for grave concern and worry. Many mothers have lost many a night's sleep over a boo-boo. Case in point, I scraped my knuckles the other day working in my wood shop. The most acknowledgement I got from my wife was "Don't get blood on the towel when you wash your hands." Had one of my sons done something similar it would have resulted in washing and sterilizing of the wounds, application of ointment, topical analgesic, bandaids, supplemental gauze, baby aspirin, obligatory kiss on said boo-boo, homemade sling, call to her mother-in-law (she's a nurse), follow-up call to the doctor, google consultation on "gaping wound first aid", and suggestions that we purchase the latest revision of Taber's the next time we're at Borders. Ok, maybe not the Taber's but everything else. The difference is, I'm not her son. Nonetheless, when your child, that which you hold dearest, is sick, you are deeply concerned about the care which you chose for him or her. You are concerned whether this person, who you probably know less about than distant cousins, is qualified to attend to the medical needs of your child. Only an expert will do. Clearly the doctor must be the best or you wouldn't be there. You wouldn't let any amateur stitch up your child's knee or set that broken arm. Who do you want consulting when you child is ill? Surely not the doctor who skated through pre-med and barely passed his medical boards? Ok, you don't have kids and medical analogies aren't your thing, I get it. How about this - you drop your car off for service because of that infernal lurch and "clunk" when the automatic transmission shifts gears. The thing is, the technician working on your car doesn't have any formal training on automobiles. He learned everything he knows by reading Hot Rod and Car and Driver. Fortunately you don't have to worry because it's still under warranty. Unfortunately if the car isn't repaired correctly you could be inconvenienced by having to take it back again and again until it's right. So, when it's time to write your company's flagship product, Flagship 1.0, why do you choose developers who's gets their education 24 hours and 21 days at a time, and who haven't read anything more technical than slashdot or the service engine soon light in the last 6 years?