alt Hacker News> If I could only maintain code I wrote, I'd have to work alone.
I don't think that "Code you did not write is code you do not understand" implies that the only way to understand code is to write it. I can read code, run it, debug it and figure out how it works.
It's true that all of that is possible with AI generated code. But the thing is, is it worth for me spending time understanding that PR, when I can make the change or launch my own agent to prompt it myself? At least with my own prompt I know exactly what I want it to be.
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It does imply that. It directly says, if you didn't write the code, then you don't understand it.
It says if you didn't write the code and you read it then you don't understand it.
It says if you didn't write the code and you debugged it then you don't understand it.
It's wrong, obviously.
Exactly. If the only effort of coding was in the writing, we would have much more code, applications, etc.
The real effort of coding is understanding it, reviewing it, improving it, making it work, and work well and durably. All of this requires thinking.