I don't think I'm old, but I get great joy in writing a simple utility function by hand, without ai. Just yesterday I wrote a function that removes the ending punctuation from a string, if present, and adds a period instead. I also wrote onDone, onSubmit, and onCancel handlers using more than my tab key.
Yet it seems to me that this is quickly becoming the stuff of an older generation, of people who move slowly, of a dying breed who care about silly things like craft and form.
Don't get me wrong--I'm all over AI, especially at work where speed also counts. But there's something so satisfying in writing code without AI that it makes me wonder if, in fact, I'm quickly becoming irrelevant.
I'm 61, and old Turbo Pascal/Delphi/Lazarus programmer when I get the chance. I've just decided to see what my GitHub copilot subscription can really do for me in implementing something like metamine[1], a language I first learned about here on HN that includes a magically equals[1].
It's slow going, learning how to use a virtual assistant to get things done, but it's patient with me, as well. Eventually, however (and to stay relevant to the conversation here), I've started exploring how the code works, and fixing bugs on my own.
Once I get the framework to the point where anyone can try it out, I hope to then go through and understand every freaking line of code, and expand it from there. You're not alone in the desire to grok everything you write. There's a lot of power in that knowledge.
Then I'll re-implement it in Turbo Pascal under MS-DOS... just to prove a point. ;-)
[1] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
I use AI extensively in work, but I try to restrict its usage in my side projects because of the same reason as yours -- I enjoy writing programs and figuring out things, so I will definitely leave the hard part to myself, and the boilerplate part to AI. Even in work I still try to figure out the algos/proper design by myself first.
I currently pretty much only use A.I. when I get stuck (or sometimes if I want some help writing the scaffolding for unit tests). If I'm not stuck then I don't use it. There may come a day when I don't think it'll be worth the time to code myself when I'm not stuck, but that day is not today.
But then again I may be considered old, too (I'm in my 40s).
I don't think it's a great idea to become too reliant on it, just like it's not a great idea to only know how to copy+paste code from Stack Overflow. If you use it too much the coding muscle gets weak and you will become less able to identify when something is done incorrectly or in a less than ideal way because of this corner case or business requirement.
I want to be able to understand your point. For those who enjoy programming, writing code is indeed a pleasure. I spent the whole day today writing a JavaScript serialization package, and even though I know someone has already done it, I am still willing to write a new one for my specific scenario. On the other hand, I think that although AI seems friendly to newcomers (inexperienced developers), it is actually more friendly to experienced developers because you can have AI help you complete some tasks and then review them yourself. Inexperienced developers have difficulty accurately pinpointing problems when they encounter issues, causing AI to keep going in circles and hitting walls.
I think people who can do this stuff, and enjoy it, are able to use AI more effectively.
I just spent most of the day going back and forth with AI over stuff, and it kept getting more and more complex. Someone who didn't know any better would probably just take it and run with it, but I worked along with it, offering up more elegant suggestions to bring it back down to earth, where other people might be able to actually understand what it is trying to do.
I still get the most joy from writing tiny little scripts that help me (or others) do something useful.
Do you want to do work or do you want to do your hobby?
If you get joy out of digging with your bare hands then you should do that. When you're doing work, use a shovel or heavy machinery if you want to get to the valuable output sooner.
The key is knowing when and how to use both.
If you can be twice as fast with something using AI and you're actively choosing not to use it, then yeah you're just being stubborn. Get over it or risk getting the boot.
There will be times though where you need to finish that last 10% of coding because the model just isn't refined enough for whatever task you're giving it. And from what I've experienced so far, that last 10% ends up being 70% of the work, which is where your expertise will come in.
I get joy from money appearing into my account to exchange for goods and services. I have plenty of things I enjoy doing outside of work that don’t involve computers - spending time with friends and families, exercise, travel, concerts, etc.
And yes I’m old - 50. I started programming in assembly on the Apple //e in 1986 and haven’t written a line of code since 1996 that I haven’t gotten paid for.
I both like to code but am lazy enough to hate the monotony of doing the same thing over and over. While I do use AI regularly, I also use an extensive collection of code generators that are deterministic that help me skip past the boring part. Doing something novel (to me) is fun, creating a form UI for the 1000th time is not very fun.
It's the same with math -- those with a deep understanding will be able to do it by hand.
Everyone else will take the easy route -- higher immediate productivity but overall capable of less.
Same feeling here, also I think this is relevant : https://i.imgur.com/WMXCqCk.png
I don't see that we're gonna lose that satisfaction you describe anytime soon. But if everything I typed is via prompt engineering, yeah I'll be a little sad.
Regardless of developments in your career or avocation, you're not irrelevant (and never will be). Don't make it your identity.
Those handlers... (Reaches for the tab key)
I don't think you're old, I just think that you enjoy the activity of programming.
It is like hearing about manual cars.
If you have to ask you know the answer :D
Why not both?
I'm in my mid-50s. I enjoy writing a simple utility function by hand. I care about craft and form.
But, I also care about increased productivity, exploring new technologies, and the wonders of AI.
Being into one doesn't negate the other.
I believe this says more about the tendency for our minds to close off to new ideas and stimulus as we get older. There's a reason that most people's "ideal era" is in their high school years.
I urge you to foster more resilience and adaptability and shun the traps of "back in my day-ism".