The first thing that jumped out at me in the (very interesting I thought) article was this; "If you need validation and encouragement from others, it isn't going to happen". In other words, you need a thick skin as well as technical ability. I remember Walter Bright achieved a certain amount of fame in the programming community back in the 80s by writing and productizing outstanding C and C++ compilers for MS-DOS when that was an important market with big competitors including MS and Borland. He seems to have been plugging away with D, conceived as a better successor for C than C++ for a long time now. I suspect that the reason that C++ is ubiquitous while D remains relatively obscure has a lot more to do with inertia and momentum than the objective merits of the two languages. It's a tough field to get traction in with so many brilliant and opinionated critics and competitors. My impression is that Walter Bright is an outstanding programmer who deserves more recognition and kudos.