It is very common for me to hear 'Rock Star' or 'Super Star' used to describe the top programmers in the computer science field.  I use it myself when posting want ads and like the idea of these sought after individuals with talents that put everyone else to shame.  But let's analyze this.  My thesis is that almost none of the coding elite would want that lifestyle.

All the world's a stage

Rock Stars love the limelight, the cheering adoring fans with every eye fixed on every detail, the hair, the wardrobe.  Excellent Coders, we crave quiet spaces where we can dress comfortably, enter a private world and interact minimally with the rest of the world.

New cities and towns.

A Rock Stars' life is a new hotel room every night, buses, seeing new towns.  Lots of people like to travel, but resettling every night, finding a good source of pizza and coffee, the lack of a comfortable chair, etc.  These are not things craved by Excellent Coders.

Everyone's a critic.

The struggle between art and popularity brings drama and excitement to the Rock Star.  Code review and collaborative creation are the source of inspiration for an Excellent Coder.

Rock-n-roll all night and party every day.

Everyone loves a good parry and I've been to some great ones at SXSW, but partying like there will be no tomorrow is just not a skill that Excellent Coders will list on their resume.

I think it's time to find a new term for the coding elite. I've heard Coding Jedi thrown around but it just hasn't taken.   I'm looking to hire some great coders, help me find the right words to describe them.