4 ms·

I’m not anti-AI but it isn’t part of my workflow. You’re describing yourself as someone unable to achieve your ideas without AI. That’s fine. But there are many

I’m not anti-AI but it isn’t part of my workflow. You’re describing yourself as someone unable to achieve your ideas without AI. That’s fine. But there are many people who have spent years building the skills necessary to be able to realize all of their ideas, and that their ideas are inextricably linked to the process. I wouldn’t have the ideas I have today if I didn’t spend years of my life in my editor. I could defer to Claude code for all my work, and I’d be frozen in time, never to progress again, losing everything that makes my work my work. Perhaps something will change, but right now, Claude code does not change anything for me. If what I do is ancient and quaint, so be it. I’m not competing for who can churn out the most code, never have, never will, because that’s not what software development is about.

andrewstuart 9mo ago
>> You’re describing yourself as someone unable to achieve your ideas without AI. I did not say that. >> But there are many people who have spent years building the skills necessary to be able to realize all of their ideas, and that their ideas are inextricably linked to the process. I have been designing and building software for 35 years and have many open source projects. You are implying that I don’t know how to program and I need AI to build stuff. Evidence to the contrary is on my GitHub. It’s typical anti AI to suggest that you must love AI because you have no real skill.
- 3rodents 9mo ago
  “I’ve always had far more ideas than I’d ever be able to build”
  - andrewstuart 9mo ago
    So? I don’t have time to build everything so what.
    - 3rodents 9mo ago
      If a skilled developer can achieve something in 1 week with 1,000 lines of code but it would take you 1 year and 1 million lines of code, is the issue that you don't have enough time, or that you don't have the necessary skills? There is no shame whatsoever in using AI. You've edited your comment since I replied. I am not anti-AI. If you can build great things with or without AI, whether it takes 1 day or 1 week, or 1 year, it doesn't matter: good software is good software. Many very talented developers are using AI. There is also no shame in not having certain skills. I am responding to "can’t get my head around why a developer wouldn’t want to use AI assisted programming". I explained that there are many developers who have a process that doesn't benefit from being able to generate lots of code very quickly. You said AI enables you to create "things that previously I’d have known how to design but not build in any reasonable timeframe". I'm happy for you, I'm glad AI has given you that, but there are many types of developer, many for whom that isn't a benefit of AI. Reddit is filled with vibecoders sharing how vibecoding is a panacea because it enabled them to build an idea they've always wanted to build but never had the time. When pressed, they reveal an idea that could be achieved very simply but their vision for how it should be built is very complicated and unsophisticated. They needed AI to achieve it because their design needed millions of lines of code. I assume you're one of those people. And that's okay. I am bad at math. Asking AI to do math for me will always be faster than doing it myself. However, unlike you, I can get my head around the reality that mathematicians are more efficient at doing math themselves.
jason_oster 9mo ago
> I wouldn’t have the ideas I have today if I didn’t spend years of my life in my editor. You are confusing abstraction with implementation. Abstraction is the tool that allows you to build bigger and better architectures. Implementation is just putting knowledge into practice. And that can be automated away. Compilers, code generators, DSLs, interpreters, and template languages are all examples of automating practical implementation details. I would wager most people learn about computing top-down (start with a high level language like Python before exploring C or C++, or getting into kernel or embedded systems firmware development) rather than bottom-up (learning Maxwell's equations, Boolean algebra, logic gates, digital circuit design, CPU architectures, machine language, operating systems, C++, Python, ...) Exploring the levels of abstraction is great for an inquisitive mind. But it isn't for everybody. Knowing all of the great designs for digital circuits doesn't give you any great ideas for software design. No one has to know anything about operating systems or memory models to build an OpenAPI client or server interface. That's the power of abstraction. > I could defer to Claude code for all my work, and I’d be frozen in time, never to progress again, losing everything that makes my work my work. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. What makes you believe you would never be curious enough to explore a new knowledge domain with Claude? You're telling me that whatever motivated you to spend years in your editor would strangely evaporate the moment you begin using a new tool? Why? Are you just confident you that you _want_ to give up on being interested in new things? I'm really having trouble rationalizing the claim. It would have to be self-sabotage.

andrewstuart 9mo ago

>> You’re describing yourself as someone unable to achieve your ideas without AI. I did not say that. >> But there are many people who have spent years building the skills necessary to be able to realize all of their ideas, and that their ideas are inextricably linked to the process. I have been designing and building software for 35 years and have many open source projects. You are implying that I don’t know how to program and I need AI to build stuff. Evidence to the contrary is on my GitHub. It’s typical anti AI to suggest that you must love AI because you have no real skill.

3rodents 9mo ago
“I’ve always had far more ideas than I’d ever be able to build”
- andrewstuart 9mo ago
  So? I don’t have time to build everything so what.
  - 3rodents 9mo ago
    If a skilled developer can achieve something in 1 week with 1,000 lines of code but it would take you 1 year and 1 million lines of code, is the issue that you don't have enough time, or that you don't have the necessary skills? There is no shame whatsoever in using AI. You've edited your comment since I replied. I am not anti-AI. If you can build great things with or without AI, whether it takes 1 day or 1 week, or 1 year, it doesn't matter: good software is good software. Many very talented developers are using AI. There is also no shame in not having certain skills. I am responding to "can’t get my head around why a developer wouldn’t want to use AI assisted programming". I explained that there are many developers who have a process that doesn't benefit from being able to generate lots of code very quickly. You said AI enables you to create "things that previously I’d have known how to design but not build in any reasonable timeframe". I'm happy for you, I'm glad AI has given you that, but there are many types of developer, many for whom that isn't a benefit of AI. Reddit is filled with vibecoders sharing how vibecoding is a panacea because it enabled them to build an idea they've always wanted to build but never had the time. When pressed, they reveal an idea that could be achieved very simply but their vision for how it should be built is very complicated and unsophisticated. They needed AI to achieve it because their design needed millions of lines of code. I assume you're one of those people. And that's okay. I am bad at math. Asking AI to do math for me will always be faster than doing it myself. However, unlike you, I can get my head around the reality that mathematicians are more efficient at doing math themselves.

jason_oster 9mo ago

> I wouldn’t have the ideas I have today if I didn’t spend years of my life in my editor. You are confusing abstraction with implementation. Abstraction is the tool that allows you to build bigger and better architectures. Implementation is just putting knowledge into practice. And that can be automated away. Compilers, code generators, DSLs, interpreters, and template languages are all examples of automating practical implementation details. I would wager most people learn about computing top-down (start with a high level language like Python before exploring C or C++, or getting into kernel or embedded systems firmware development) rather than bottom-up (learning Maxwell's equations, Boolean algebra, logic gates, digital circuit design, CPU architectures, machine language, operating systems, C++, Python, ...) Exploring the levels of abstraction is great for an inquisitive mind. But it isn't for everybody. Knowing all of the great designs for digital circuits doesn't give you any great ideas for software design. No one has to know anything about operating systems or memory models to build an OpenAPI client or server interface. That's the power of abstraction. > I could defer to Claude code for all my work, and I’d be frozen in time, never to progress again, losing everything that makes my work my work. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. What makes you believe you would never be curious enough to explore a new knowledge domain with Claude? You're telling me that whatever motivated you to spend years in your editor would strangely evaporate the moment you begin using a new tool? Why? Are you just confident you that you _want_ to give up on being interested in new things? I'm really having trouble rationalizing the claim. It would have to be self-sabotage.