Great article. For me it's creative use of tools by others - sometimes myself - in a non-standard way (sometimes that becomes standard!) that brings enlightenment. Be it language, source control, networking, you name it.
Aside: assuming the author is reading, minor typo in the first para: But once in a w̶h̶i̶t̶e̶ while
Aside: assuming the author is reading, minor typo in the first para: But once in a w̶h̶i̶t̶e̶ while