i feel like i have no mental model for what it's like learning software engineering from scratch in the age of LLMs.
like, i was a math major, i know there is no substitute for working through proofs over and over on a chalkboard in an empty classroom. you actually need to do this to get good.
for software it's not as clear to me. personally i got a lot out of my systems class and still think about C and y86 when i'm writing python. but maybe there is an 80/20.
i do wish i could get back all the hours i spent learning how to properly center a div. lol.
Awwww! Very relatable! Lmk if you want to chat about it. I think I had just tied my self-worth to stuff, when just as soon I could've just cultivated it internally. I.e. not make it depend on my performance, intelligence, achievements, successes, impact, etc. Internal is more fun. Impact etc. is still cool, but I don't need it anymore to define me. Highly recommended! <3
i relate a lot to the adhd feeling where any single failure totally invalidates anything youve ever succeeded at and makes you ontologically incapable of anything
very relatable, going through a job hunt right now and having to numb myself to the sting of rejection in a tough job market. you get better at handling failure as you age though. in the words of Cowboy Bebop, “you’ll carry that weight”.
I definitely relate to the hubris you describe. I think your conclusion that it’s dangerous and should always be questioned is probably the right way to handle it. And yet… in my life (mostly school) so far, I objectively do need to try less hard than people around me to succeed at the same tasks, and so I chose a kind of lazy success because I seem to be able to still have a very good, satisfying life taking on only relatively easy challenges. But I do wonder about the counterfactual. Should I be seeking out more difficult problems to solve? Would I be able to do more good for the world? Would I enjoy it more than the relatively easy route I’ve taken? Is my level of talent/IQ/whatever actually that rare, or is it just that my selection of a more modest life trajectory is rare for people of my talent/IQ/whatever? Could I recommend taking an easy path like I did to someone like me who has yet to choose? Idk
Depends on the coding test heavily, but as someone who actually writes and marks coding tests for people as a part of my job -- different organizations use coding tests in very different ways. If it is an organization like any other, then they probably use it in the default way. If it is an organization run by competent people, they also _probably_ use it in the default way, but I would not be so sure.
EDITED TO ADD: I also say this because personally I have heard people update about themselves from "ostensibly poor performance" on coding tests that I make. And this update is WRONG and I try to warn people about this beforehand, and probably less-kind people would not warn you about this.
relatable!!
very practice-able skill, i even find it fun, but also kind of a waste of time!
Yea leetcode and AoC type problems can be fun once you get into it. And if you spend time grinding them you get good.
i feel like i have no mental model for what it's like learning software engineering from scratch in the age of LLMs.
like, i was a math major, i know there is no substitute for working through proofs over and over on a chalkboard in an empty classroom. you actually need to do this to get good.
for software it's not as clear to me. personally i got a lot out of my systems class and still think about C and y86 when i'm writing python. but maybe there is an 80/20.
i do wish i could get back all the hours i spent learning how to properly center a div. lol.
Awwww! Very relatable! Lmk if you want to chat about it. I think I had just tied my self-worth to stuff, when just as soon I could've just cultivated it internally. I.e. not make it depend on my performance, intelligence, achievements, successes, impact, etc. Internal is more fun. Impact etc. is still cool, but I don't need it anymore to define me. Highly recommended! <3
i relate a lot to the adhd feeling where any single failure totally invalidates anything youve ever succeeded at and makes you ontologically incapable of anything
very relatable, going through a job hunt right now and having to numb myself to the sting of rejection in a tough job market. you get better at handling failure as you age though. in the words of Cowboy Bebop, “you’ll carry that weight”.
I definitely relate to the hubris you describe. I think your conclusion that it’s dangerous and should always be questioned is probably the right way to handle it. And yet… in my life (mostly school) so far, I objectively do need to try less hard than people around me to succeed at the same tasks, and so I chose a kind of lazy success because I seem to be able to still have a very good, satisfying life taking on only relatively easy challenges. But I do wonder about the counterfactual. Should I be seeking out more difficult problems to solve? Would I be able to do more good for the world? Would I enjoy it more than the relatively easy route I’ve taken? Is my level of talent/IQ/whatever actually that rare, or is it just that my selection of a more modest life trajectory is rare for people of my talent/IQ/whatever? Could I recommend taking an easy path like I did to someone like me who has yet to choose? Idk
You should eat more regularly!
Depends on the coding test heavily, but as someone who actually writes and marks coding tests for people as a part of my job -- different organizations use coding tests in very different ways. If it is an organization like any other, then they probably use it in the default way. If it is an organization run by competent people, they also _probably_ use it in the default way, but I would not be so sure.
EDITED TO ADD: I also say this because personally I have heard people update about themselves from "ostensibly poor performance" on coding tests that I make. And this update is WRONG and I try to warn people about this beforehand, and probably less-kind people would not warn you about this.
Failure to prepare is preparing to fail. Trite quote but a lot of truth behind it. I'm sure you'll make the next one!
Kind of didn't have the time to prepare. But yes, good quote
You could loosen your grip on your identity. Checking to see if you're god or retarded all the time seems like a lot of work
it's certainly alluring! (EDIT: I read "identity" as "reality". My point stands either way)
Lmao I wouldn’t endorse loosening your grip on reality if you’re working on something important (with neel nanda, btw)
SO TRUE