Baldur Bjarnason

"The two worlds of programming: why developers who make the same observations about LLMs come to opposite conclusions"

https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/2026/the-two-worlds-of-programming/

It comes down to whether you think "more of the same" is a good thing or a bad thing for software.

The two worlds of programming: why developers who make the same observations about LLMs come to opposite conclusions

Writing at the end of the world, from Hveragerði, Iceland

Mar 16 at 1:10pmWeb
Show threadNiels Abildgaard6d ago
@baldur Nice to see this written out longform!
Show threadBaldur Bjarnason6d ago
@nielsa Thanks! Took me longer than I hoped but got there in the end 🙂
Show threadTraumkämpfer6d ago
@baldur Thank you. I was hoping you put these thoughts on your blog when I read those recent threads.
Show threadBaldur Bjarnason6d ago
@Traumkaempfer 🙂 👍
Show threadAnthony6d ago
@[email protected] I think you've hit on a brilliant new design methodology: SDD (Superstition-Driven Design).
Show threadBaldur Bjarnason6d ago
@abucci 😆
Show threadMindaugas Rudokas6d ago

@baldur @abucci I would recommend another kind of SDD – the Shame-Driven Development, but the capacity to feel shame is no longer present in this industry.

It is probably unwinnable: https://mastodon.social/@mrudokas/116212143188608925

Show threadSeanBurlington 🌈 🕊️6d ago

@baldur yep

The web has been getter worse not better for years

I had to upgrade my laptop just to be able to use websites

I still don't quite understand why

I mean I get why it couldn't run a local kubernetes cluster to run my production system locally

But it wasn't even useable for just looking at websites any more.

and those websites were doing the same job they did when the laptop was new - well they were doing the same job for me - but maybe all the adtech and spyware was driving it

Show threadJames Laverack6d ago
@baldur the Watershed is still like that, by the way. :)
Show threadBaldur Bjarnason6d ago
@JamesLaverack Good to hear! Love the place.
Show threadMacCruiskeen6d ago
@baldur Software ate the world, digested it, and is now pooping it out uncontrollably, and the toilet is clogged.
Show threadBaldur Bjarnason6d ago
@maccruiskeen Pretty much.
Show threadwasabi brain6d ago
@baldur this is such a great line: “They are right. LLMs make work that doesn’t matter easier”. Also it seems like the folks around for dot com crash and Great Recession are being fired as well, so more likely to lose the internal skeptics
Show threadBaldur Bjarnason6d ago
@virtualinanity Yeah, it certainly feels like the sceptics are being weeded out.
Show threadJulien Colomb6d ago

@baldur now it makes sense

'There is little to no downside to poor software quality. The upside of doing the job well is limited compared to tactics like lock-in, dishonest subscription models, and monopolies'

That is what happens when engineers have no say in product dvt.

Show threadMikeStok6d ago
@baldur @nielsa ah, the Watershed, the Arnolfini, the Thekla. The thought takes me back a few decades.