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Vibe coding creates fatigue?

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Re: Vibe coding creates fatigue?

#11

Post by loloquwowndueo »

happytoexplain wrote: post #7
JohnMakin wrote: post #3

There probably needs to be some settled discussion on what constitutes "vibe coding." I interpret this term as "I input text into $AI_MODEL, I look at the app to see my change was implemented. I iterate via text prompts alone, rarely or never looking at the code generated." vs. what this author is doing, which seems more like agent assisted coding than "vibe" coding. With regard to the subject matter, it of course ma…

Yes, I'm getting increasingly confused as to why some people are broadening the use of "vibe" coding to just mean any AI coding, no matter how thorough/thoughtful.

Like people using “bricked” to signal recoverable situations. “Oh the latest update bricked my phone and I had to factory-reset it, but it’s ok now”. Bricked used to mean it turned into something as useful as a brick, permanently.

Re: Vibe coding creates fatigue?

#12

Post by zephyrthenoble »

Jeff_Brown wrote: post #8
zephyrthenoble wrote: post #4

I've felt this too as a person with ADHD, specifically difficulty processing information. Caveat: I don't vibe code much, partially because of the mental fatigue symptoms. I've found that if an LLM writes too much code, even if I specified what it should be doing, I still have to do a lot of validation myself that would have been done while writing the code by hand. This turns the process from "generative" (haha) to…

Agreed. Some strategies that seem to help exist, though. Write extensive tests before writing the code. They serve as guidance. Commit tests separately from library code, so you can tell the AI didn't change the test. Specify the task with copious examples. Explain why yo so things, not just what to do.

Interesting, I haven't tried tests outside of the code base the LLM is working on.

I could see other elements of isolation being useful, but this kind of feels like a lot of extra work and complexity which is part of the issue...

Re: Vibe coding creates fatigue?

#13

Post by xnorswap »

I feel this.

I take breaks.

But I also get drawn to overworking ( as I'm doing right now ), which I justify because "I'm just keeping an eye on the agent".

It's hard work.

It's hard to explain what's hard about it.

Watching as a machine does in an hour what would take me a week.

But also watching to stop the machine spin around doing nothing for ages because it's got itself in a mess.

Watching for when it gets lazy, and starts writing injectable SQL.

Watching for when it gets lazy, and tries to pull in packages it had no right to.

We've built a motor that can generate 1,000 horse power.

But one man could steer a horse.

The motor right now doesn't have the appropriate steering apparatus.

I feel like I'm chasing it around trying to keep it pointed forward.

It's still astronomically productive.

To abandon it would be a waste.

But it's so tiring.

Re: Vibe coding creates fatigue?

#15

Post by colechristensen »

xnorswap wrote: post #13

I feel this. I take breaks. But I also get drawn to overworking ( as I'm doing right now ), which I justify because "I'm just keeping an eye on the agent". It's hard work. It's hard to explain what's hard about it. Watching as a machine does in an hour what would take me a week. But also watching to stop the machine spin around doing nothing for ages because it's got itself in a mess. Watching for when it gets lazy,…

Build tools to keep it in check.

Re: Vibe coding creates fatigue?

#17

Post by namrog84 »

loloquwowndueo wrote: post #11
happytoexplain wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I'm getting increasingly confused as to why some people are broadening the use of "vibe" coding to just mean any AI coding, no matter how thorough/thoughtful.

Like people using “bricked” to signal recoverable situations. “Oh the latest update bricked my phone and I had to factory-reset it, but it’s ok now”. Bricked used to mean it turned into something as useful as a brick, permanently.

I've also seen the term. You've been permanently banned for 12 hours.

Instead of temporarily suspended.

Whatever happened to the word suspended for temporary and ban for permanent and places say permanent with an expiration date.

Re: Vibe coding creates fatigue?

#18

Post by Avicebron »

Zigurd wrote: post #10

I don't want to be that contrarian guy, but I find it energizing to go faster. For example, being able to blast through a list of niggling defects that need to be fixed is no longer a stultifying drag. I recently used a coding agent on a project where I was using an unfamiliar language, framework, API, and protocol. It was a non-trivial project, and I had to be paying attention to what the agent was doing because it…

Can you share why it was non-trivial? I'm curious about how folks are evaluating the quality of their solutions when the project space is non trivial and unfamiliar

Re: Vibe coding creates fatigue?

#19

Post by vidarh »

Zigurd wrote: post #10

I don't want to be that contrarian guy, but I find it energizing to go faster. For example, being able to blast through a list of niggling defects that need to be fixed is no longer a stultifying drag. I recently used a coding agent on a project where I was using an unfamiliar language, framework, API, and protocol. It was a non-trivial project, and I had to be paying attention to what the agent was doing because it…

Same here. I've picked up projects that have languished for years because the boring tasks no longer make me put them aside.

Re: Vibe coding creates fatigue?

#20

Post by christophilus »

celeryd wrote: post #9
JohnMakin wrote: post #3

There probably needs to be some settled discussion on what constitutes "vibe coding." I interpret this term as "I input text into $AI_MODEL, I look at the app to see my change was implemented. I iterate via text prompts alone, rarely or never looking at the code generated." vs. what this author is doing, which seems more like agent assisted coding than "vibe" coding. With regard to the subject matter, it of course ma…

I don't see a distinction. Vibe coding is either agent assisted coding or using chatbots as interpreters for your design goals. They are the same thing.

No. One involves human quality control, and one omits it.
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