Very interesting. I find this is specially applicable to people learning or perfecting coding skills, not so much for developers already proficient in coding. What do you think?

Developing coding skills is both easier and more difficult than ever at the same time.

50 years ago the main barrier was access to hardware - computers were big, expensive, and not easy to come by for average people.

30 years ago, the biggest hurdle was access to resources: you had to spend a fortune on books that quickly became obsolete or had to wait for your local library to get them for you.

Today, you basically have everything - up-to-date free reference material on pretty much everything in an instant, cheap and accessible hardware (no need for high-end stuff), great online tutorials and interactive courses, message boards, the works.

But then you also have a machine that completely removes the need to put in the effort required to actually learn and hone your skills. Human psychology always seeks shortcuts and more discipline than ever is needed to not give up and have the machine do the thinking for you instead.

Proficient developers are getting pressured into outsourcing their craft and skills to the machine, thus deskilling quickly. Juniors never get the chance to become proficient in the first place - either because they're not getting hired to begin with, or because they succumb to the siren song of the machine...

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