alt Hacker NewsFor some reason, this approach makes me think of the difference between “wizardry” and “sorcery” in some fantasy magic systems. The magic of “wizards” is fundamentally based on a deep study and understanding of arcane things, perhaps assisted by some (necessary or helpful) tools of great power. “Sorcerers” summon supernatural beings and are able to control them, cajole them, and protect themselves and others against them (with more or less success)... but the actual desired magical effect is performed by those beings.
Computing has historically been a field of wizardry. It's... interesting (?) to see so many people pushing so hard in the direction of sorcery, and in fact applying that sorcery to other fields, in which they themselves aren't quite able to validate whether the spell worked or not.
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It's a truly wonderful read, made better by the fact the author doesn't quite understand what's going on.
The usual format that fun mathematics is presented (being talked at by someone who is very well versed in the subject) comes with a heavy cognitive burden - and often I just can't really make it through.
When the author is not an expert the writing is just so much more accessible - it's easier to understand and making it through feels more of an adventure and less of a lecture.
I've never thought previously how much I would enjoy this format though. I'm here to see more amateurs stumbling through mathematics.
Also, wasn't expecting this sort of side-quest from the guy who got me into React.
> in which they themselves aren't quite able to validate whether the spell worked or not
Knowledge is of 2 kinds: know-that and know-how. Know-that is what LLMs are enabling such as the proof here, while know-how is more useful as that constitutes understanding and puts that knowledge to use.
I’ve felt like a warlock for about half a year now - talking to demons which summon code from the abyss. Exhilarating and terrifying, especially when you can tell the demons get better faster.
Differently than wizards that lock their knowledge in towers and in sects, software development has a tradition of being open for the most part, so the sorcery and wizardry analogy works more like a spectrum. It just depends on how close to the metal the apprentice would like their consciousness.
The sorcerers have always outnumbered the wizards. Before AI, we called them code monkeys.
Heh, I like this. but it should be pointed out that from the other point of view, software developers were the supernatural beings (dare I say demons), which the sorcery of a good project manager could tame (with more or less success) to perform the desired magical effect