Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

blog.sydorets.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 438 posts

Re: Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

#111

Post by inigyou »

RajT88 wrote: post #102
SoftTalker wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To achieve the best outcomes, I agree. But even a cheap steak can be decent if it's cooked properly. And an expensive prime cut can be ruined by cooking it improperly.

Yes. It is about learning all of these things. Knowing what kind of cut you have, and how to treat it to best effect. A very tough gristly cut can be improved by tenderizing. Going low-and-slow/sous vide to melt the connective tissue. Even grinding it up to make a hamburger steak / loco moco. Once you know all of those things, choosing the right approach and executing it is not that hard. The steps themselves are sim…

This story is AI slop

Re: Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

#112

Post by asdfman123 »

nielsbot wrote: post #110
asdfman123 wrote: post #99

God dammit I thought this was going to teach me how to cook a steak, not talk about AI.

HN has also covered steak cooking before: Show HN: I Derived a Steak https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48691840

This place is nerd central (which I guess explains why I'm here).

Re: Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

#113

Post by Night_Thastus »

It would certainly help if it could taste what it produced. Or see, with its eyes, how the result is changing as its process changes. Or learn, from first principles, what is happening at each step and make deductions about how they will affect the result.

All it can do is randomly shuffle around the steps and ask if the customer likes it. If they don't, shuffle them around again and hope it's better this time.

Re: Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

#114

Post by entrepy123 »

asdfman123 wrote: post #99

God dammit I thought this was going to teach me how to cook a steak, not talk about AI.

To get a perfect steak with nice X-shaped sear marks on both sides:

1. Turn grill on all the way. Close lid. Wait for grill's gauge to reach >400 F (>200C).

2. Put steak on grill. Close lid. Wait 2 minutes.

3. Rotate steak 90 degrees, placing on a fresh section of the grill (not where it just was). Close lid. Wait 2 minutes.

4. Flip steak over, placing on a fresh section of the grill (not where it just was). Close lid. Wait 2 minutes.

5. Rotate steak 90 degrees, placing on a fresh section of the grill (not where it just was). Close lid. Wait 2 minutes.

It's been 8 minutes of grilling. Steak is about done. Stab it with a meat thermometer into the middle part, it should read 350 F (or 176 C) to be medium done (pink in middle).

Tips:

a) Optional but recommended: rub steak with olive oil and steak seasoning on both sides, including the edge.

b) If steak is thicker: add a little more time. If thinner, use less time.

c) If steak is frozen (buy good cheap steaks and freeze to last a long time): add a little time.

d) To cheat, put a little dab of butter on top for the last segment of each side.

e) Leave the steak out for 15-20 minutes to get to room temp before making it.

f) Let it sit on a plate for 8 minutes before serving. It's still cooking, and the juices settle in. You can "tent" foil over it if you want.

g) Don't cut the steak when checking it. "Fast" and accurate meat thermometers are cheap now.

This is for grilling. The stove, broiler, and cast iron skillet instructions are different.

Re: Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

#115

Post by ghostbrainalpha »

MostlyStable wrote: post #30

I take the point, but I think the author picked a poor analogy. Cooking even an excellent steak is actually not that hard. In fact, I'd argue that it's among the easiest things to master/make at a top level quality at home. Does it require some modicum of attention and understanding? Sure. But starting with a high quality cut, owning a meat-thermometer, and knowing about reverse searing is about all it takes to relia…

Am I the only one who thinks the "reverse sear" is like cheating? It takes out all of the skill when you move from the pan to the oven, and I lose all of the fun in learning to be chef.

Re: Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

#116

Post by MerrimanInd »

SoftTalker wrote: post #67
MerrimanInd wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm more of a coffee nerd than a steak aficionado but I've often made the comparison between those two. In both cases, the enthusiast considers their skill in making coffee/cooking steak to be a differentiator and they immerse themselves deeply into the process, skills, and tools. But for both coffee beans and steak the most important factor for a good end product is starting with high quality inputs. In other words,…

To achieve the best outcomes, I agree. But even a cheap steak can be decent if it's cooked properly. And an expensive prime cut can be ruined by cooking it improperly.

But the point is that no matter how well you cook the steak you're not creating quality, you're just getting the most out of what you have. The cow and the farmer created that quality. I believe we lose sight of that because so much of the value chain is not visible to us and we hyper fixate on the fun part, becoming a better barista/chef.

Re: Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

#119

Post by asdfman123 »

entrepy123 wrote: post #114
asdfman123 wrote: post #99

God dammit I thought this was going to teach me how to cook a steak, not talk about AI.

To get a perfect steak with nice X-shaped sear marks on both sides: 1. Turn grill on all the way. Close lid. Wait for grill's gauge to reach >400 F (>200C). 2. Put steak on grill. Close lid. Wait 2 minutes. 3. Rotate steak 90 degrees, placing on a fresh section of the grill (not where it just was). Close lid. Wait 2 minutes. 4. Flip steak over, placing on a fresh section of the grill (not where it just was). Close li…

MANAGER VOICE: Can we get AI to do this for us? /s

Re: Software development with AI is starting to feel like cooking steak

#120

Post by amanaplanacanal »

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #56
MostlyStable wrote: post #30

I take the point, but I think the author picked a poor analogy. Cooking even an excellent steak is actually not that hard. In fact, I'd argue that it's among the easiest things to master/make at a top level quality at home. Does it require some modicum of attention and understanding? Sure. But starting with a high quality cut, owning a meat-thermometer, and knowing about reverse searing is about all it takes to relia…

I also don't think the analogy will age well. It might take more than 10 years, but robots will almost certainly master cooking single pieces of meat. It's substantially harder to reach self driving than it is to cook a "good" steak. Sure, for probably quite a long time you'll be able to find someone who can cook a way better steak than the best robot, especially because taste is extremely subjective... You can debat…

Maybe. It depends what you count as part of cooking the steak.

I need to go to the market, find the steak I want, and purchase it, get it home, and put it in the fridge.

Then when I want to cook it I need to find it in the fridge, unwrap it, season it, and let it come up to room temp.

That's all before you get to the actual cooking.

The self driving car already does everything.

Post reply on HN