I agree and that’s the point I was trying to make.

Linus’s contribution is a great one. He learned from prior tools and contributions, made a lot of smart technical decisions, got stuff moving with a prototype, then displayed good technical leadership by handing it off to a dedicated development team.

That’s such a good lesson for all of us devs.

So why the urge to lie and pretend he coded it in a week with no help? I know you’re not saying this, but this is the common myth.