Isn't it a fact that software engineering is inherently creative? While programming may not strictly count as art by most people's definitions, it is certainly not soulless or mechanical as your comment implies. In particular, Bach's music is so remarkable precisely because it combines mathematical patterns and subjective beauty.
I hate the phrase, but exceptional software engineers "paint with code."
I agree that software development is creative, I do think that's an important part of the process. I'm not convinced that every "10x developer" is solving software engineering problems on the same level at which Rembrandt painted or Bach composed.
It seems to me that painters and composers create art that is appreciated much more widely and over a much more varied audience than software engineers. Given that the inner workings of software are visible to a much smaller audience, isn't it likely that their skills are being over-rated?
There certainly exist developers who perform at the same level in their craft as Bach composed. Why wouldn't the positive tail of the distribution exist?
> Isn't it a fact that software engineering is inherently creative?
Yes, absolutely. If you can create a simple, clean, extensible abstraction that hundreds of other engineers use to avoid recreating and testing functionality this could be considered 10x due to the leverage.
I hate the phrase, but exceptional software engineers "paint with code."