I am very surprised at the discussion this essay has touched off. I thought it was almost obvious what pg was saying. I have been from start up to large company to starting my own start up to working for a large company again. I've lived the same changes two times over now and can completely relate to the caged lion feeling. It's not that I'm a better programmer (or person for that matter) when I'm working for myself. It's that working for a large company has certain restrictions on freedom that come with the added security and comfort.

In short, I feel, act, and behave differently based on my environment. There are a lot of nice things about working for a large company and I work for a good one right now. Still, if I didn't have my own projects to work on (another start up coming on!) I would go stir crazy. I thought the analogy to a lion was quite flattering.