jacobian1d ago

Look this isn’t at all a defense of slop code, but it has me thinking — how much does code quality matter, and why?

It’s maintenance, right? We care about readability because we know we’ll have to make changes, fix bugs, etc.

But so … imagine a codebase that’s magically bug-free and feature-complete. (I’m aware this is a strawman - that’s the point, it’s a thought experiment.) Does it matter if this codebase is well-written? I’m not sure it does! (1/5)

Show threadJan Lehnardt 1d ago
@jacob et tu brute?
Show threadjacobian1d ago
@janl I’m not sure what you mean?
Show threadJan Lehnardt 1d ago
@jacob Every week someone I look up to falls for the genai scam.
Show threadjacobian1d ago

@janl *sigh*

If having anything positive to say or any curiosity at all about LLMs means I’ve fallen for a scam than ok I guess. I wish there was room for more nuance here.

Show threadjacobian1d ago
@janl To be clear - my position is that genAI is on balance probably a net negative and if I could unring the bell I would. But also I would say that about the internet — and “there are good things about the internet” is hardly a controversial option (I think?). I get that The Discourse demands extreme opinions but I don’t think it’s “falling for a scam” to find positive things about AI, and I think it’s dead wrong to approach ANYTHING without a sense of curiosity.
Show threadJan Lehnardt 1d ago
@jacob hence my original post. I’m so very sorry they got you.
Show threadjacobian
@janl That’s certainly one narrative. It’s not mine.
Apr 2 at 3:50pmWeb
Show threadJan Lehnardt 1d ago
@jacob I also want to state that I am a person and not A Discourse.