I wrote my first line of code in 1983. I was seven years old, typing BASIC into a machine that had less processing power than the chip in your washing machine. I understood that machine completely. Every byte of RAM had a purpose I could trace. Every pixel on screen was there because I’d put it there. The path from intention to result was direct, visible, and mine.
Forty-two years later, I’m sitting in front of hardware that would have seemed like science fiction to that kid, and I’m trying to figure out what “building things” even means anymore.
This isn’t a rant about AI. It’s not a “back in my day” piece. It’s something I’ve been circling for months, and I think a lot of experienced developers are circling it too, even if they haven’t said it out loud yet.
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I’ve been doing this as long as you have, although not at your level, and that’s it, exactly. You learn by doing hard stuff, and that’s slipping away.
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