Don't be the out of touch Kung Fu master • Hacker News Board

Re: Don't be the out of touch Kung Fu master

#41

Post by charcircuit » Sun, Sep 13, 2026, 5:02 AM UTC

corv wrote: post #7

glimshe wrote: post #3

We are going from the era of manual, line-by-line mental model transcription to one where software engineers can focus on data structures, software architecture and algorithms. I love being able to quickly bring out the program that is already running in my head without having to worry about the grind of typing it into a format that the compiler understands. Dealing with API names. Syntax. Language quirks. Library go…

I like your constructive outlook and I want to believe that we can now focus on the bigger picture, but I'm not really seeing it around me. Most everyone I know that's "AI-pilled" has spent the newfound capacity on throughput instead of altitude. Is anyone actually seeing a shift towards improved structure rather than more code, faster? We seem to be living in the Gatling-gun version of the picture John Carmack drew…

Are those people working on products or platforms? Platforms still have to be rock solid and deliver performance guarantees to the products built on top of them.

Re: Don't be the out of touch Kung Fu master

#42

Post by questionableans » Sun, Sep 13, 2026, 5:05 AM UTC

doctorpangloss wrote: post #30

enraged_camel wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Is anyone actually seeing a shift towards improved structure rather than more code, faster? Yes. At work we recently finished a complete rewrite of the platform. The old codebase got abandoned and two new codebases got stood up. Previous stack was Phoenix LiveView and the new one is Phoenix API + Vue /w TypeScript. Zero code shared between the two. We took the opportunity to re-architect a lot of the core function…

> For example, there is a 100% test coverage requirement in both server and client, combined with AI-driven review rules that say all tests must be non-vacuous, look, your application works, right? so it doesn't really matter what you or i think, and this is why AI matters. but this, your "100% test coverage" - that is pure slop. just 20 years ago, all the most popular software shipped with NO tests. are you getting…

What kind of software are you talking about? Test harnesses were commonly used in 2006. JUnit was created in 1997.

Re: Don't be the out of touch Kung Fu master

#43

Post by motionlessveloc » Sun, Sep 13, 2026, 5:05 AM UTC

tkel wrote: post #29

Ironically, this post comes off as out of touch. The purpose of the various martial arts isn't just to win in a life-or-death brawl or murder people as efficiently as possible. Similarly, the point of programming isn't just to generate as much code as possible, or only to be more "productive".

In Musashi's era, meaning the late 1500s, kendo (sword fighting) was absolutely about being as "productive" (read: lethal) as possible.

As it happens, this was also the era when firearms had just been introduced to Japan. In 1575 Oda Nobunaga demolished the Takeda cavalry at the Battle of Nagashino, marking the first time firearms had been used at scale in Japanese combat, and in 1600 Musashi participated in the decisive Battle of Sekigahara where both sides used them extensively.

Re: Don't be the out of touch Kung Fu master

#44

Post by HWR_14 » Sun, Sep 13, 2026, 5:10 AM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #27

corv wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like your constructive outlook and I want to believe that we can now focus on the bigger picture, but I'm not really seeing it around me. Most everyone I know that's "AI-pilled" has spent the newfound capacity on throughput instead of altitude. Is anyone actually seeing a shift towards improved structure rather than more code, faster? We seem to be living in the Gatling-gun version of the picture John Carmack drew…

>> Is anyone actually seeing a shift towards improved structure rather than more code, faster? Yes. At work we recently finished a complete rewrite of the platform. The old codebase got abandoned and two new codebases got stood up. Previous stack was Phoenix LiveView and the new one is Phoenix API + Vue /w TypeScript. Zero code shared between the two. We took the opportunity to re-architect a lot of the core function…

> We finished the rewrite in two months. > racing towards a deadline imposed by external factors so we all ended up working a lot of hours.

2 months of 80 hour weeks is 4 months of regular weeks. Can you clarify how many hours your team was putting in? And how large was your team?

Re: Don't be the out of touch Kung Fu master

#45

Post by thih9 » Sun, Sep 13, 2026, 5:11 AM UTC

> WorldEnder

> Its just that, it used to be free. All I needed was a computer.

https://xcancel.com/rustishard/status/2098853622263976328#m

Same here.

In particular regarding free as in freedom, so about access and control. Just like I never enjoyed working with proprietary coding platforms, OS, or IDEs, I’m not particularly excited about proprietary models.

Re: Don't be the out of touch Kung Fu master

#46

Post by soundworlds » Sun, Sep 13, 2026, 5:16 AM UTC

thih9 wrote: post #45

> WorldEnder > Its just that, it used to be free. All I needed was a computer. https://xcancel.com/rustishard/status/2098853622263976328#m Same here. In particular regarding free as in freedom, so about access and control. Just like I never enjoyed working with proprietary coding platforms, OS, or IDEs, I’m not particularly excited about proprietary models.

Check out DeepSeek v4.1 Flash, just released, and I am enjoying it more than Claude. No one can run it locally.. Yet.. But give it a few years and I wouldn't be surprised if models of that capability were standard for programming laptops.

Re: Don't be the out of touch Kung Fu master

#47

Post by LarsDu88 » Sun, Sep 13, 2026, 5:19 AM UTC

motionlessveloc wrote: post #43

tkel wrote: post #29

Ironically, this post comes off as out of touch. The purpose of the various martial arts isn't just to win in a life-or-death brawl or murder people as efficiently as possible. Similarly, the point of programming isn't just to generate as much code as possible, or only to be more "productive".

In Musashi's era, meaning the late 1500s, kendo (sword fighting) was absolutely about being as "productive" (read: lethal) as possible. As it happens, this was also the era when firearms had just been introduced to Japan. In 1575 Oda Nobunaga demolished the Takeda cavalry at the Battle of Nagashino, marking the first time firearms had been used at scale in Japanese combat, and in 1600 Musashi participated in the deci…

The end of the Sengoku Jidai was triggered by a warlord (Nobunaga) who equipped his armies with massed ashigaru levies armed with long spears and tanegashima arquebuses. It was absolutely a technological brawl where the valiant highly trained cavalry of warlord's like Takeda Shingen got mowed down by the bullets of musketeers stationed behind well prepared and covered firing positions.

If it was still going on today, the warlords would be adopting drone warfare and vibecoded 3d printed cruise missiles.

Re: Don't be the out of touch Kung Fu master

#48

Post by threethirtytwo » Sun, Sep 13, 2026, 5:21 AM UTC

HN is loaded with out of touch Kung Fu masters. They were the loudest skeptics against AI. Still a lot here.

It's human nature. If your identity is defined by your kung fu and a technology is about to obsolesce your kung fu, then all logic goes out the window as you go all out in protecting your identity. It's mostly for themselves. They have to lie to themselves and tell themselves that they still "matter".

Re: Don't be the out of touch Kung Fu master

#49

Post by ghthor » Sun, Sep 13, 2026, 5:22 AM UTC

glimshe wrote: post #3

We are going from the era of manual, line-by-line mental model transcription to one where software engineers can focus on data structures, software architecture and algorithms. I love being able to quickly bring out the program that is already running in my head without having to worry about the grind of typing it into a format that the compiler understands. Dealing with API names. Syntax. Language quirks. Library go…

This is where I’m at as well. It is incredibly liberating I feel very empowered

Re: Don't be the out of touch Kung Fu master

#50

Post by turpentine » Sun, Sep 13, 2026, 5:23 AM UTC

glimshe wrote: post #3

We are going from the era of manual, line-by-line mental model transcription to one where software engineers can focus on data structures, software architecture and algorithms. I love being able to quickly bring out the program that is already running in my head without having to worry about the grind of typing it into a format that the compiler understands. Dealing with API names. Syntax. Language quirks. Library go…

> We are going from the era of manual, line-by-line mental model transcription to one where software engineers can focus on data structures, software architecture and algorithms.

Focusing on data structures, architecture and algorithms is what competency in programming has looked like since forever. Building systems out of smaller pieces gets you there.

If your complaint above is that you were struggling with syntax and reading documentation, one might ask if you failed to progress past beginner levels, and now AI is just your cheat-code?