We're living in such a stupid time.
Took 36 years to go from computers being a "bicycle for the mind" to manually copy/pasting to prevent brain rot.
Prevent cognitive debt by manually retyping LLM-generated code
301–310 of 479 posts
Re: Prevent cognitive debt by manually retyping LLM-generated code
#302Big no for retyping llm generated code by hand. But a big yes for still typing code by hand, and not leaving it to the llm. Except it has to be the code generated by your brain. That is what will create new neurons and new connections, which is what will keep away the cognitive decline. And the constraint of not having to use llms will enhance creativity. Actually, the constraints llms add to your code are more in nu…
> Big no for retyping llm generated code by hand.
There must be some merit to retyping LLM generated code, even verbatim. In school, I would rewrite or re-typeset notes as a study habit. In doing so, I'd review content, detect errors, synthesize concepts simply because rewriting notes forced me to pay attention at the per-word level.
While retyping LLM code is not something I personally do, I'd imagine it could bestow similar benefits.
Re: Prevent cognitive debt by manually retyping LLM-generated code
#303I don't think it's possible to eliminate cognitive debt when using LLMs, but you can definitely minimize it. Part of this means recognizing that you will only get, say, a 2x productivity boost instead of a mythical 100x increase, the benefit is, you'll actually know what you're doing versus being a brain addled zombie.
First, use the LLM to understand the problem thoroughly. They can be great research aids. I've speed up tons of learning using LLMs. It is essential you ground the discussion in existing texts or code. Ping pong with the LLM asking it to challenge your understanding, how you direct citations for explanations, clarify things, etc.
After you've understood, plan. Develop a plan with the LLM/agent by steering it hard. Read the slop text thoroughly. Give it direct feedback. Don't proceed until you have a complete expectation of what you think the agent will do when implementing the plan.
Let the agent do all the implementation.
Review the agent's work. Again, engage with it and leave direct feedback. Ask for clarification and alternatives if needed. If it was totally off mark, start the process again.
You won't be moving at warp speed with this approach but you'll know a lot more than the one shot prompting loop cowboys out there.
Re: Prevent cognitive debt by manually retyping LLM-generated code
#304Big no for retyping llm generated code by hand. But a big yes for still typing code by hand, and not leaving it to the llm. Except it has to be the code generated by your brain. That is what will create new neurons and new connections, which is what will keep away the cognitive decline. And the constraint of not having to use llms will enhance creativity. Actually, the constraints llms add to your code are more in nu…
> But a big yes for still typing code by hand, and not leaving it to the llm. Except it has to be the code generated by your brain. > That is what will create new neurons and new connections, which is what will keep away the cognitive decline. 100% agree with this. The problem is, your employer doesn’t care whether your brain is creating new neurons and connections. They care about productivity and profit. I feel lik…
Businesses demanding high productivity and speed only encourages illicit drug use.
Re: Prevent cognitive debt by manually retyping LLM-generated code
#305Earlier quoted context omitted.
> you don't learn from it Except that you do. Otherwise you could just sit in school or university and just listen and do nothing, but that way you just learn A LOT less, instead of taking down the lecture/lesson.
Of course you learn more if you retype material than if you do nothing, but it's still a waste of time, comparatively speaking, because there are much better ways of engaging with the material like solving practice problems. Having to spend 95% of the time taking notes of things that could be distributed in a PDF has only ever hindered me academically. It's mechanical and boring, my mind tunes out and I get nothing o…
Am I the only one who enjoys taking notes? But more in the sense of recording knowledge so that I have it in perpetuity.
For instance, I have almost completely forgotten how to solve ODEs, even though I had a good command of it when I learned it (by solving practice problems). In that sense, I wish that my prior self had taken good notes, so that I wouldn't have to dig up source material if I wanted to relearn it again.
Everyone likes nicely typeset LaTeX -- why not apply that craftsmanship to preserving academic notes?
Re: Prevent cognitive debt by manually retyping LLM-generated code
#306Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even better would be to rewrite it by hand with a pen.
Yes some people teach C this way, for a little while, I don’t forget semicolons as much as people around me later seemed too, may or may not be related
It confused me at the time, mainly because I had a class with written-out C and one with written-out Pascal in the same semester. The Pascal prof wouldn't mark off for C syntax but the C one would would mark off for Pascal syntax.
Re: Prevent cognitive debt by manually retyping LLM-generated code
#307The industry does. Not. Care.
64 GB of RAM, nough said?
Re: Prevent cognitive debt by manually retyping LLM-generated code
#308Not familiar with this term "cognitive debt"
A debt implies repayment. But the loss here is not going to be repaid, it's permanent
Perhaps a more appropriate term might be "cognitive deficit" or "cognitive loss"
Re: Prevent cognitive debt by manually retyping LLM-generated code
#309Lots of reactions here, but if it works for you then that's great. For me I feel that LLMs have exploded (in a good way) my cognitive capabilities. I'm now the general of an army, rather than playing the role of a soldier. Of course that means that I lose the experience of being the lonely soldier, but it is a no-brainer tradeoff for me. Anyway, I have to go now so I can push my car to the grocery store (so I don't f…
Managers famously get dumber but think they get smarter and then start to write army metaphors.
lol
Re: Prevent cognitive debt by manually retyping LLM-generated code
#310Not familiar with this term "cognitive debt" A debt implies repayment. But the loss here is not going to be repaid, it's permanent Perhaps a more appropriate term might be "cognitive deficit" or "cognitive loss"
Repayment here means that you eventually need to invest the time to understand the approach used and the code intricacy, to later fix or build upon IF you are to manually/artisanally (for a lack of a better word) go about addressing the issue.
...if you use AI again, then yeah it's a permanent loss.