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I wonder how this code generation “assistant” will impact the coding skills of its users in long term. My brain is already negatively impacted having to juggle

by kirse 4y ago

I wonder how this code generation “assistant” will impact the coding skills of its users in long term. My brain is already negatively impacted having to juggle 3 separate package managers, know the syntax and inputs for 17+ different dotfiles in a repo and then actively context switch between at least 3-4 languages on a daily basis. I counted it up recently and I've built products in at least 20 languages over the past two+ decades. At some point you really just can't effectively compartmentalize it all and context switch perfectly. I try by using different fonts+colors per lang etc but it still is hard. AI has been a net win for syntax recall just by giving it gentle nudges towards intent.

jokethrowaway 4y ago
On the contrary, I'd argue all the switching probably kept you sharp
- throwaway675309 4y ago
  I sincerely doubt it, humans are historically poor at multitasking, being able to focus on solving problems at an architectural and algorithmic level requires concentration - not having to worry about some bull crap DevOps cloud formation nonsense.
geraneum 4y ago
I didn’t mean just any negative impact like getting tired from context switching or feeling exhausted because the workload is high. What I meant was: Will you lose it if you don’t use it? Maybe you won’t, I am not certain. Or maybe you will and you don’t see it now because the “net win for syntax recall just by giving it gentle nudges towards intent” relies on your hard earned ability to understand the code which is gained partly through exercise. You’ve already done your exercise. I wouldn’t form an opinion just yet. For now we can ask the questions. Edit: wording of the first sentence for clarity
- FeepingCreature 4y ago
  But losing it may free up resources to gain other things. Like how "losing" assembly skills allowed people to dedicate more capability to higher-level approaches.
  - geraneum 4y ago
    Sure that could happen. Nothing against that. But I am not fully confident. As a counter example, we have ORMs. They bring value but I have seen enough devs who are too reliant on it and don’t develop a good understanding of how the underlying database behaves. This could be actually detrimental to the work. Maybe we will have a mixed result similar to ORM example. It can lower the barriers to entry, which is good, but won’t eliminate the need for deep expertise. At least initially.
moonchrome 4y ago
Why are you touching 17 different dotfiles on a regular basis to require knowing their syntax/inputs ? I've done a similar number of platform jumping but I honestly don't remember when I've used more than 3 or 4 at the same time. Like I was really into Clojure for ~1 year back around ~2010 - if you put me on a clojure project I'd be lost for a month. I wouldn't need to get over LISP and functional programming mindset again but the details are lost. At this point I rarely see big paradigm shifts and it's just picking up the details + connecting with things I already know. I've outsourced remembering details to Google :)

by kirse 4y ago

jokethrowaway 4y ago

On the contrary, I'd argue all the switching probably kept you sharp

throwaway675309 4y ago
I sincerely doubt it, humans are historically poor at multitasking, being able to focus on solving problems at an architectural and algorithmic level requires concentration - not having to worry about some bull crap DevOps cloud formation nonsense.

geraneum 4y ago

I didn’t mean just any negative impact like getting tired from context switching or feeling exhausted because the workload is high. What I meant was: Will you lose it if you don’t use it? Maybe you won’t, I am not certain. Or maybe you will and you don’t see it now because the “net win for syntax recall just by giving it gentle nudges towards intent” relies on your hard earned ability to understand the code which is gained partly through exercise. You’ve already done your exercise. I wouldn’t form an opinion just yet. For now we can ask the questions. Edit: wording of the first sentence for clarity

FeepingCreature 4y ago
But losing it may free up resources to gain other things. Like how "losing" assembly skills allowed people to dedicate more capability to higher-level approaches.
- geraneum 4y ago
  Sure that could happen. Nothing against that. But I am not fully confident. As a counter example, we have ORMs. They bring value but I have seen enough devs who are too reliant on it and don’t develop a good understanding of how the underlying database behaves. This could be actually detrimental to the work. Maybe we will have a mixed result similar to ORM example. It can lower the barriers to entry, which is good, but won’t eliminate the need for deep expertise. At least initially.

moonchrome 4y ago

Why are you touching 17 different dotfiles on a regular basis to require knowing their syntax/inputs ? I've done a similar number of platform jumping but I honestly don't remember when I've used more than 3 or 4 at the same time. Like I was really into Clojure for ~1 year back around ~2010 - if you put me on a clojure project I'd be lost for a month. I wouldn't need to get over LISP and functional programming mindset again but the details are lost. At this point I rarely see big paradigm shifts and it's just picking up the details + connecting with things I already know. I've outsourced remembering details to Google :)