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I find this such a weird stance to take. Every system I work on and bug I fix has broad sets of code that I didn't write in it. Often I didn't write any of the

I find this such a weird stance to take. Every system I work on and bug I fix has broad sets of code that I didn't write in it. Often I didn't write any of the code I am debugging. You have to be able to build a mental map as you go even without ai.

whynotminot 8mo ago
Yeah. Everyone sort of assumes that not having personally written the code means they can’t debug it. When is the last time you had an on call blow up that was actually your code? Not that I’m some savant of code writing — but for me, pretty much never. It’s always something I’ve never touched that blows up on my Saturday night when I’m on call. Turns out it doesn’t really change much if it’s Sam who wrote it … or Claude.
- croes 8mo ago
  The problem is you lose abilities if stop writing code completely. There is a difference between a lector and an author
- geetee 8mo ago
  "hey coworker, I know your team wrote this, can you help?" Except there is no coworker, just Claude
  - crazygringo 8mo ago
    "Yeah our team wrote it but everyone who built that part of it has moved to different teams or companies since."
    - geetee 8mo ago
      Yeah it happens, and it's not ideal, and now instead of a risk, it's a guarantee.
      - crazygringo 8mo ago
        Yeah but now you get an LLM to help you understand the code base 100x faster. Remember, they're not just good for writing code. They're amazing at reading code and explaining to you how the architecture works, the main design decisions, how the files fit together, etc.
  - whynotminot 8mo ago
    Do you know what on call means? It means Sam is 7 beers deep on Saturday night since you’re the one on call. He’s not responding to your slack messages. Claude actually is there though, so that’s kind of nice.
    - geetee 8mo ago
      Sam might be 7 beers deep, or maybe he's available. In my org, oncall is just who gets the 2am phone call. They can try to contact anyone else if needed. Claude is there as long as you're paying,and I hope he doesn't hallucinate an answer.
      - whynotminot 8mo ago
        > In my org, oncall is just who gets the 2am phone call. They can *try* to contact anyone else if needed. Emphasis mine. > Claude is there as long as you're paying If you’re at a company that doesn’t pay for AI in the year 2026, you should find a new company. > and I hope he doesn't hallucinate an answer. Unlike human coworkers with a 100% success rate, naturally.
Capricorn2481 8mo ago
Because it's remarkably easier to write bugs in a code base you know nothing about, and we usually try to prevent bugs entirely, not debug them after they are found. The whole premise of what you're saying is dependent on knowing bugs exist before they hit Prod. I inherit people's legacy apps. That almost never happens. In sufficiently complicated systems, the 10xer who knows nothing about the edge cases of state could do a lot more damage than an okay developer who knows all the gotchas. That's why someone departing a project is such a huge blow.
pharrington 8mo ago
When you work on a pre-existing codebase, you don't understand the code yet, but presumably somebody understood parts of it while building it. When you use AI to generate code, you guarantee that no one has ever understood the code being summoned. Don't ignore this difference.
LordHumungous 8mo ago
Usually all code has an owner though. If I encounter a bug the first thing I often do is look at git blame and see who wrote the code then ask them for help.
croes 8mo ago
You are missing the point. It’s a difference reading code if you’re are also a writer of than purely a reader. It’s like only reading/listening to foreign language without ever writing/speaking it.

whynotminot 8mo ago

Yeah. Everyone sort of assumes that not having personally written the code means they can’t debug it. When is the last time you had an on call blow up that was actually your code? Not that I’m some savant of code writing — but for me, pretty much never. It’s always something I’ve never touched that blows up on my Saturday night when I’m on call. Turns out it doesn’t really change much if it’s Sam who wrote it … or Claude.

croes 8mo ago
The problem is you lose abilities if stop writing code completely. There is a difference between a lector and an author
geetee 8mo ago
"hey coworker, I know your team wrote this, can you help?" Except there is no coworker, just Claude
- crazygringo 8mo ago
  "Yeah our team wrote it but everyone who built that part of it has moved to different teams or companies since."
  - geetee 8mo ago
    Yeah it happens, and it's not ideal, and now instead of a risk, it's a guarantee.
    - crazygringo 8mo ago
      Yeah but now you get an LLM to help you understand the code base 100x faster. Remember, they're not just good for writing code. They're amazing at reading code and explaining to you how the architecture works, the main design decisions, how the files fit together, etc.
- whynotminot 8mo ago
  Do you know what on call means? It means Sam is 7 beers deep on Saturday night since you’re the one on call. He’s not responding to your slack messages. Claude actually is there though, so that’s kind of nice.
  - geetee 8mo ago
    Sam might be 7 beers deep, or maybe he's available. In my org, oncall is just who gets the 2am phone call. They can try to contact anyone else if needed. Claude is there as long as you're paying,and I hope he doesn't hallucinate an answer.
    - whynotminot 8mo ago
      > In my org, oncall is just who gets the 2am phone call. They can *try* to contact anyone else if needed. Emphasis mine. > Claude is there as long as you're paying If you’re at a company that doesn’t pay for AI in the year 2026, you should find a new company. > and I hope he doesn't hallucinate an answer. Unlike human coworkers with a 100% success rate, naturally.

Capricorn2481 8mo ago

Because it's remarkably easier to write bugs in a code base you know nothing about, and we usually try to prevent bugs entirely, not debug them after they are found. The whole premise of what you're saying is dependent on knowing bugs exist before they hit Prod. I inherit people's legacy apps. That almost never happens. In sufficiently complicated systems, the 10xer who knows nothing about the edge cases of state could do a lot more damage than an okay developer who knows all the gotchas. That's why someone departing a project is such a huge blow.

pharrington 8mo ago

When you work on a pre-existing codebase, you don't understand the code yet, but presumably somebody understood parts of it while building it. When you use AI to generate code, you guarantee that no one has ever understood the code being summoned. Don't ignore this difference.

LordHumungous 8mo ago

Usually all code has an owner though. If I encounter a bug the first thing I often do is look at git blame and see who wrote the code then ask them for help.

croes 8mo ago

You are missing the point. It’s a difference reading code if you’re are also a writer of than purely a reader. It’s like only reading/listening to foreign language without ever writing/speaking it.