Okay. I'm fine with agreeing with the notion that good, productive engineers can result from good environments.
But that doesn't mean hiring 'broken toys' is a good idea. This article's message is 'Can't find anyone good? That's okay! Hire someone anyway and mentor them!'
Turn this stone into a diamond!' Okay. Some stones don't turn into diamonds. Gee...if only there was some sort of process that can help determine which people are capable of being a good engineer. Maybe companies can do something like asking some basic questions about a candidate's ability. Something like a filtering process.
'The pond is empty.' Pfff. No it's not. If no one's biting at the rod, it's because of shitty bait.