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I'm glad AI didn't exist when I learned to code

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Re: I'm glad AI didn't exist when I learned to code

#11

Post by globular-toast »

kccqzy wrote: post #4

I think this really isn't about AI, but rather about the good self discipline as well as the willingness and perseverance to explore deeply. I have seen people who learned to code before AI, and yet because they don't bother to ask themselves another layer of "why" they continue to have a superficial understanding of everything. And I have no doubt that the truly excellent programmer will understand the whole system…

Yes, and the persistence to figure things out when they're not working the way you think they should. So many people just go and ask for help the moment things aren't working and if they still can't get an answer they just give up. It doesn't matter if you're coming to me or ChatGPT, if I just tell you what's wrong you never learn.

Re: I'm glad AI didn't exist when I learned to code

#12

Post by rock_artist »

It’s exactly like learning math before or after calculators were tiny and portable.

My son do basic calculations all the time. I know of some school aged kids doing amazing things. As long as you use technology to enhance and enrich you it’s good. But concise is the key.

You can try learning guitar only from YouTube. It might work, but you might also position your hand wrong and injure it. So balance and additional guidance are important.

Re: I'm glad AI didn't exist when I learned to code

#13

Post by szundi »

alpha_squared wrote: post #6

I mentor a few recent grads and folks who change careers into tech, so I'll share here what I've told them for years. Writing code is the easiest part of software engineering. You're hired for your perceived ability to solve problems the employer needs solved. Many times you'll solve it with code. Sometimes you'll solve it with process. In every instance, you're expected to solve it using your learned experience and…

[dead]

Re: I'm glad AI didn't exist when I learned to code

#17

Post by svachalek »

alpha_squared wrote: post #6

I mentor a few recent grads and folks who change careers into tech, so I'll share here what I've told them for years. Writing code is the easiest part of software engineering. You're hired for your perceived ability to solve problems the employer needs solved. Many times you'll solve it with code. Sometimes you'll solve it with process. In every instance, you're expected to solve it using your learned experience and…

Couldn't have said it better. Unfortunately people who should know better like Zuckerberg are perpetuating the idea that coding is the whole job.

Re: I'm glad AI didn't exist when I learned to code

#18

Post by Waterluvian »

I mentor a high school robotics team and they use copilot for Java coding and on occasion I’ve seen them write code that just kinda breaks the robot and then they’re totally lost for a while.

But I can assure you, the alternative is there being no coding team and maybe no robotics team at all.

I think that maybe I’d say: it’s good that AI isn’t good enough to never break the robot. That’s when they’re learning a lot about coding and debugging.

Re: I'm glad AI didn't exist when I learned to code

#19

Post by CharlesW »

alpha_squared wrote: post #6

I mentor a few recent grads and folks who change careers into tech, so I'll share here what I've told them for years. Writing code is the easiest part of software engineering. You're hired for your perceived ability to solve problems the employer needs solved. Many times you'll solve it with code. Sometimes you'll solve it with process. In every instance, you're expected to solve it using your learned experience and…

> If you can't be bothered to deal with the easiest part of your job, writing some code, how do you expect to be trusted with the hard stuff?

If writing code is the easiest and least impactful thing you do as a software engineer, why does it matter if you use AI to assist with that part? Or to come at it from another angle, why is using Stack Overflow/Google in the hunt for answers and examples good, but using AI models is not good?

Re: I'm glad AI didn't exist when I learned to code

#20

Post by globular-toast »

alpha_squared wrote: post #6

I mentor a few recent grads and folks who change careers into tech, so I'll share here what I've told them for years. Writing code is the easiest part of software engineering. You're hired for your perceived ability to solve problems the employer needs solved. Many times you'll solve it with code. Sometimes you'll solve it with process. In every instance, you're expected to solve it using your learned experience and…

There's also the "big picture" part of software engineering, that is the architecture and design of a piece of software. It's all done in the head (and maybe on paper). Once my fingers hit the keyboard the code pretty much writes itself because the hard part has already been done.
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