I agree so strongly. I'm a Vim user and from time to time discuss Vim/Emacs vs. $IDE, and there are usually good considerations of how the various differences m

I agree so strongly. I'm a Vim user and from time to time discuss Vim/Emacs vs. $IDE, and there are usually good considerations of how the various differences might affect a code base: would the ease of refactoring in an IDE lead to better consistency, does IDE autocomplete scatter typos throughout, etc. But I can't recall a discussion of how they affect us. The tools we use, the techniques those tools allow and foreclose, profoundly shape our thoughts and feelings. This applies to any creative practice (I'm not one of those "code is art" people, but you are creating something), not just software. I think I share your worry, but in a more abstract sense: how does the act of thinking about building software shape us, and what would we lose without it? Would we be better off? Would it have been better if we applied those mental resources elsewhere? Has society benefited from a huge swell of humans thinking this way? Something that heartens me a little is that I think the rich world is on the cusp of being able to do things broadly only because we want to. I may never write another Django app again, unless I want to experience how they did it in the early 21st century. I think this culture is emerging--I wish it were more widespread, and we were more focused on bringing it to all humanity, but its emergence gives me hope.