But I’m so much more detached of the code, I don’t feel that ‘deep neural connection’ from actual spending days in locked in a refactor or debugging a really complex issue.
I don’t know how a feel about it.
Sure, you don't know the code by heart, but people debugging code translated to assembly already do that.
The big difference is being able to unleash scripts that invalidate enormous amount of hypothesis very fast and that can analyze the data.
Used to do that by hand it took hours, so it would be a last resort approach. Now that's very cheap, so validating many hypothesis is way cheaper!
I feel like my "debugging ability" in terms of value delivered has gone way up. For skill, it's changing. I cannot tell, but the value i am delivering for debugging sessions has gone way up
But if you don't and there's no PR process (side projects), the motivation to form that connection is quite low.
No, because you can get LLMs to produce high quality code that has gone through an infinite number of refinement/polish cycles and is far more exhaustive than the code you would have written yourself.
Once you hit that point, you find yourself in a directional/steering position divorced from the code since no matter what direction you take, you'll get high quality code.
You very much decide how you employ LLMs.
Nobody are keeping a gun to your head to use them. In a certain way.
Sonif you use them in a way that increase you inherent risk, then you are incredibly wrong.
I understand why a designer might read this post and not be happy about it. If you don't think your management values or appreciates design skill, you'd worry they're going to glaze over the bullet points about design productivity, and jump straight to the one where PMs and marketers can build prototypes and ignore you. But that's not what the sales pitch is focused on.
Neither of those is necessarily a synonym for why you personally use them
If you don't know whats going on through the whole process, good luck with the end product.
This all bumps up against the fact that most people default to “you use the tool wrong” and/or “you should only use it to do things where you already have firm grasp or at least foundational knowledge.”
It also bumps against the fact that the average person is using LLM’s as a replacement for standard google search.
The latent assumption here is that learning is zero sum.
That you can take a 30 year old from 1856 bring them into present day and they will learn whatever subject as fast as a present day 20 year old.
That teachers doesn't matter.
That engagement doesn't matter.
Learning is not zero sum. Some cultural background makes learning easier, some mentoring makes is easier, and some techniques increases engagement in ways that increase learning speed.
That’s product atrophy, not skill atrophy.
Could you do it again without the help of an LLM?
If no, then can you really claim to have learned anything?
And yes. If LLMs disappear, then we need to hire a lot of people to maintain the infrastructure.
Which naturally is a part of the risk modeling.
Not what I asked, but thanks for playing.
> Could you do it again without the help of an LLM?
Well, yes?
What do you think "learning" means? If you cannot do something without the teacher, you haven't learned that thing.
If your child says they've learned their multiplication tables but they can't actually multiply any numbers you give them do they actually know how to do multiplication? I would say no.
It’s quite possible to be deep into solving a problem with an LLM guiding you where you’re reading and learning from what it says. This is not really that different from googling random blogs and learning from Stack Overflow.
Assuming everyone just sits there dribbling whilst Claude is in YOLO mode isn’t always correct.
> Could you do it again on your own?
Can you you see how nonsensical your stance is? You're straight up accusing GP of lying they are learning something at the increased rate OR suggesting if they couldn't learn that, presumably at the same rate, on they own, they're not learning anything.
That's not very wise to project your own experiences on others.
Not everyone learns at the same pace and not everyone has the same fault tolerance threshold. In my experiencd some people are what I call "Japanese learners" perfecting by watching. They will learn with AI but would never do it themselves out of fear of getting something wrong while they understand most of it, others that I call "western learners" will start right away and "get their hands dirty" without much knowledge and also get it wrong right away. Both are valid learning strategies fitting different personalities.
What an interesting paradox-like situation.
Well, if internet is down, so is our revenue buddy. Engineering throughput would be the last of our concerns.
I don't believe it. Having something else do the work for you is not learning, no matter how much you tell yourself it is.
Having other people do work for you is how people get to focus on things they actually care about.
Do you use a compiler you didn't write yourself? If so can you really say you've ever learned anything about computers?
Open your eyes, and you might become a believer.
Indeed, quite weird and no imagination.
It does seem like there is a cult of people who categorically see LLMs as being poor at anything without it being founded in anything experience other than their 2023 afternoon to play around with it.
Can’t you be satisfied with outcompeting “non believers”? What motivates you to argue on the internet about it? Deep down are you insecure about your reliance on these tools or something, and want everyone else to be as well?
It feels so off rebuilding serious SaaS apps in days for production, only to be told it is not possible?
And not even just understanding, but verifying that they’ve implemented the optimal solution.