The document discusses how the values and behaviors of programmers can be strongly influenced by the communities they belong to. It explains the "pickle principle" - that it is easier for cucumbers to take on the flavor of brine than the other way around, similar to how people absorb the culture of their organizations. It provides examples of programmers developing very different mindsets depending on whether they learned in a "white company" or "black company" community. The document advocates choosing communities carefully and suggests open source communities as a good option for programmers.