[cnity]

Sometimes I read something on the internet and I think: finally someone has articulated something the way that I think about it. And it is very validating. And it cuts through a bunch of noise about how "oh you should be tuning and tweaking this prompt and that" and really speaks to the human experience. Thanks for this.

[all2]

Same. After using AI for too long I get the same mental feeling as I do when scrolling endlessly on YouTube, a listless empty purposeless feeling that I find difficult to break out of without a whole night's rest.

[jackdoe]

Programming was very meditative and fulfilling experience for me, "building something" whatever it is, now I can see it slipping through my fingers.

You know the feeling of starting a new mmorpg video game? The first time you enter a new world, you dont know what to do, where to go, there is no "optimal" way to play it, there are no guides, you just try things and explore and play and have fun. Every new project I start I have this feeling.

Few years later the game is a chore, you have daily quests, guides and optimal strategies and simmulations and if you dont play what elitistjerks say you are doing it wrong.

With AI it feels the game is never new.

[all2]

> Programming was very meditative and fulfilling experience for me, "building something" whatever it is, now I can see it slipping through my fingers.

I've been characterizing it to others as the difference between hand-carving a post for a bed frame vs. letting a CNC mill do it. The artistry-labor is lost, and time-savings are realized. In the process, the meditation of the artist, the labor and blood, sweat, and tears are all lost.

It isn't 'bad', but it has this dulling effect on my mind. There's something about being involved at a deep level that is satisfying and uplifting to my mind. When I cede that to a machine, I have lost that satisfaction.

Some years ago, I noticed this same issue just looking at typing vs. hand-writing things. I _think_ very differently on paper than I do typing at a terminal. My mind is slow and methodical with a pen, as if I actually have time to think. At a keyboard, I am less patient, more prone to typing before I think.

[CooCooCaCha]

I’m the opposite. I’d rather spend more time in a flow-like state where I’m dreaming of possibilities and my thoughts come to life quickly and effortlessly.

I often find tools frustrating because they are imperfect and even with the best tools you inevitably have to break from your flow sometimes to do stuff in a more manual way.

If a tool could take care of building while I remain in flow I’d be in heaven.

[CooCooCaCha]

That’s interesting because i love computers and parts of programming. Algorithms are fascinating and I get a deep sense of satisfaction when my program works.

But at the same time I find programming to be a frustrating experience because I want to spend as much time as possible thinking about what I’m trying to build.

In other words I’d rather spend time in the dream-like space of possibilities, and iterating on my thoughts quickly than “dropping down” to reality and thinking through how I’m actually going to build it, what algorithms to use, how to organize code, etc.

Because of that I’ve found vibe coding to be enjoyable even if it’s not perfect.

[mfro]

Love of the process vs the product

[all2]

These are intertwined, though, and rather tightly in some cases. Game dev is an excellent example of this.

[CooCooCaCha]

Perhaps you're confusing enjoyment with necessity. Iteration is necessary to build a good game, but I want to minimize iteration time as much as possible so I can finish the game.

In that sense, the process is the enemy. A long, laborious process kills games.

[mentalgear]

Maybe this is Doom-Coding (as Instagram's empty DoomScrolling).

[Izkata]

A while ago I suggested "doom prompting", also from "doom scrolling", but it was for a slightly different mental effect: "It's so close, just one more and it might be exactly right".

[afc]

Wonder if you've tried spec driven development (as opposed to just prompting)?

I used to create requirement-oriented prompts and I felt something similar to what you describe. However, I've switched to generating parts of my source code from my specs in a semi-automated way and it made the process much more pleasant (and efficient, I think).

I wrote a bit about my current state here: https://alejo.ch/3hi - for my Duende project I generate 8821 lines of code (2940 of implementation, 5881 of tests) from 1553 lines in specifications.

[all2]

I have. I get into the same head space, either way.

[abathologist]

Careful, that way leads roboticization, according to me https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44010933 :|

[cyanydeez]

Some think current AI is like Excel and you just need to know the hotkeys and formulas.

Others see its mostly a slot machine that more often than not gives you almost right answers.

Knowing how the psychology of gambling machine design is maybe a big barrier between these people.

[NewsaHackO]

[flagged]

[dang]

"Edit out swipes."

"Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith."

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html