alt Hacker NewsSome folks might enjoy writing for the sake of writing. But I'd wager they don't enjoy, say, plumbing for the sake of plumbing? When their toilet is clogged, they call a pro and don't treat it as a journey of personal growth.
I think this works both ways. Your average plumber doesn't enjoy writing. It's something they might need to do from now and then, but if you give them a magic box that solves the problem, they're gonna be overjoyed. One less chore.
Plumbing or writing, I don't think you can convince people not to take shortcuts by telling them "but the fact it's hard is what makes it worthwhile for you!"
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The plumbing metaphor is interesting. The most adjacent place I've heard this metaphor is in theology (Mako Fujimura)
The goal of plumbing is to fix / repair; certainly it's possible to enjoy fixing and repairing. But is the joy of writing in "repairing ideas"? How is that a separate concept from creating new ones?
My impression is that the author’s intended audience is other ‘Writers™’.
But you can still make the case that writers and plumbers alike who enjoy doing their work for its own sake should embrace the reward effected by conquering the tedium of their trade and not take shortcuts.
So if you don't like plumbing, don't get a robot to do your plumbing and then claim you're a "vibe plumber".
I think the crucial difference here is that literally anybody can write without taking on years of training or a tremendous financial burden.
This Software Architect would disagree with you :)
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/when-architects-plumb-why-you...
Sure, but if you outsource your plumbing you don't call yourself a variation of a plumber (a vibe-plumber I guess). The magic box is nothing new, it's just that it used to be operated by a human.
Why would I call a plumber when I can fix it myself for free and learn something new while I'm at it?
I disagree. My toilet was leaking. I diagnosed the issue as a bad tank gasket. Replace said gasket and things are working fine. Could a licensed plumber have done it faster. Possibly. But a $300 service call was avoided.
Now I had my house replumbed to relocate well tank, water softener, water heater, whole house filter, relocated washing machine and slop sink. That I left to the professionals. But I watched to learn more.
If I outsource my thinking and can’t see how the box does it, what is the purpose?
My takeaway from the read wasn't that it was trying to convince anyone to take any particular action, and even emphasized that the mediocrity of AI output as more people use it will be a benefit to the smaller number of people doing their own thinking.