8 ms·

I think we have different opinions on what's fun and what's boring!

by n4r9 11mo ago

moffkalast 11mo ago
He's a real straight shooter with upper management written all over him.
- wpasc 11mo ago
  but what would you say... you do here?
- SoftTalker 11mo ago
  Ummm, yeah... I’m gonna have to go ahead and sort of disagree with you there.
AStrangeMorrow 11mo ago
I really enjoy writing some of the code. But some is a pain. Never have fun when the HQ team asks for API changes for the 5th time this month. Or for that matter writing the 2000 lines of input and output data validation in the first place. Or refactoring that ugly dictionary passed all over the place to be a proper class/dataclass. Handling config changes. Lots of that piping job. Some tasks I do enjoy coding. Once in the flow it can be quite relaxing. But mostly I enjoy the problem solving part: coming up with the right algorithm, a nice architecture , the proper set of metrics to analyze etc
embedding-shape 11mo ago
Some people are into designing software, others like to put the design into implementation, others like cleaning up implementations yet others like making functional software faster. There is enough work for all of us to be handsomely paid while having fun doing it :) Just find what you like, and work with others who like other stuff, and you'll get through even the worst of problems. For me the fun comes not from the action of typing stuff with my sausage fingers and seeing characters end up on the screen, but basically everything before that and after that. So if I can make "translate what's in my head into source on disk something can run" faster, that's a win in my book, but not if the quality degrades too much, so tight control over it still not having to use my fingers to actually type.
- mkehrt 11mo ago
  I've found that good tab AI-based tab completion is the sweet spot for me. I am still writing code, but I don't have to type all of it if it's obvious.
  - OkayPhysicist 11mo ago
    This has been my approach, as well. I've got a neovim setup where I can 1) open up a new buffer, ask a question, and then copy/paste from it and 2) prompt the remainder of the line, function, or class. (the latter two are commands I run, rather than keybinds).
Nemi 11mo ago
You've really hit the crux of the problem and why so many people have differing opinions about AI coding. I also find coding more fun with AI. The reason is that my main goal is to solve a problem, or someone else's problem, in a way that is satisfying. I don't much care about the code itself anymore. I care about the thing that it does when it's done. Having said that I used to be deep into coding and back then I am quite sure that I would hate AI coding for me. I think for me it comes down to – when I was learning about coding and stretching my personal knowledge in the area, the coding part was the fun part because I was learning. Now that I am past that part I really just want to solve problems, and coding is the means to that end. AI is now freeing because where I would have been reluctant to start a project, I am more likely to give it a go. I think it is similar to when I used to play games a lot. When I would play a game where you would discover new items regularly, I would go at it hard and heavy up until the point where I determined there was either no new items to be found or it was just "more of the same". When I got to that point it was like a switch would flip and I would lose interest in the game almost immediately.
- pdntspa 11mo ago
  You are hitting the nail on the head. We are not being hired to write code. We are being hired to solve problems. Code is simply the medium.
  - wahnfrieden 11mo ago
    I believe wage work has a significant factor in all this. Most are not paid for results, they're paid for time at desk and regular responsibilities such as making commits, delivering status updates, code reviews, etc. - the daily activities of work are monitored more closely than the output. Most ESOP grant such little equity that working harder could never observably drive an increase in its value. Getting a project done faster just means another project to begin sooner. Naturally workers will begin to prefer the motions of the work they find satisfying more than the result it has for the business's bottom line, from which they're alienated.
    - Sammi 11mo ago

I think we have different opinions on what's fun and what's boring!

by n4r9 11mo ago

I think we have different opinions on what's fun and what's boring!

moffkalast 11mo ago

He's a real straight shooter with upper management written all over him.

wpasc 11mo ago
but what would you say... you do here?
SoftTalker 11mo ago
Ummm, yeah... I’m gonna have to go ahead and sort of disagree with you there.

AStrangeMorrow 11mo ago

I really enjoy writing some of the code. But some is a pain. Never have fun when the HQ team asks for API changes for the 5th time this month. Or for that matter writing the 2000 lines of input and output data validation in the first place. Or refactoring that ugly dictionary passed all over the place to be a proper class/dataclass. Handling config changes. Lots of that piping job. Some tasks I do enjoy coding. Once in the flow it can be quite relaxing. But mostly I enjoy the problem solving part: coming up with the right algorithm, a nice architecture , the proper set of metrics to analyze etc

embedding-shape 11mo ago

Some people are into designing software, others like to put the design into implementation, others like cleaning up implementations yet others like making functional software faster. There is enough work for all of us to be handsomely paid while having fun doing it :) Just find what you like, and work with others who like other stuff, and you'll get through even the worst of problems. For me the fun comes not from the action of typing stuff with my sausage fingers and seeing characters end up on the screen, but basically everything before that and after that. So if I can make "translate what's in my head into source on disk something can run" faster, that's a win in my book, but not if the quality degrades too much, so tight control over it still not having to use my fingers to actually type.

mkehrt 11mo ago
I've found that good tab AI-based tab completion is the sweet spot for me. I am still writing code, but I don't have to type all of it if it's obvious.
- OkayPhysicist 11mo ago
  This has been my approach, as well. I've got a neovim setup where I can 1) open up a new buffer, ask a question, and then copy/paste from it and 2) prompt the remainder of the line, function, or class. (the latter two are commands I run, rather than keybinds).

Nemi 11mo ago

You've really hit the crux of the problem and why so many people have differing opinions about AI coding. I also find coding more fun with AI. The reason is that my main goal is to solve a problem, or someone else's problem, in a way that is satisfying. I don't much care about the code itself anymore. I care about the thing that it does when it's done. Having said that I used to be deep into coding and back then I am quite sure that I would hate AI coding for me. I think for me it comes down to – when I was learning about coding and stretching my personal knowledge in the area, the coding part was the fun part because I was learning. Now that I am past that part I really just want to solve problems, and coding is the means to that end. AI is now freeing because where I would have been reluctant to start a project, I am more likely to give it a go. I think it is similar to when I used to play games a lot. When I would play a game where you would discover new items regularly, I would go at it hard and heavy up until the point where I determined there was either no new items to be found or it was just "more of the same". When I got to that point it was like a switch would flip and I would lose interest in the game almost immediately.

pdntspa 11mo ago
You are hitting the nail on the head. We are not being hired to write code. We are being hired to solve problems. Code is simply the medium.
- wahnfrieden 11mo ago
  I believe wage work has a significant factor in all this. Most are not paid for results, they're paid for time at desk and regular responsibilities such as making commits, delivering status updates, code reviews, etc. - the daily activities of work are monitored more closely than the output. Most ESOP grant such little equity that working harder could never observably drive an increase in its value. Getting a project done faster just means another project to begin sooner. Naturally workers will begin to prefer the motions of the work they find satisfying more than the result it has for the business's bottom line, from which they're alienated.
  - Sammi 11mo ago