Except performance enhancing drugs are banned from sports because that’s how they want it to be played (it has nothing to do with safety, look at non drugs like the LZR Racer swim suit).

If you wish to make software engineering your job then it stops being a game where we ban things simply because they provide an “unfair” advantage.

If you wish to play at programming “the way it used to be done” then by all means go ahead. But mixing methapors between sports and work is not helpful.

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nickorlow 4 hours ago | parent [-]

I think you grossly misunderstood my point. Just saying the hobby side of it is less fun because the effort part of it feels more pointless.

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_aavaa_ 3 hours ago | parent [-]

I guess I don’t understand the motivation you have for perusing your hobbies.

To me, the effort part only feels pointless if you want to accept LLM-derived code as comparable. Any marathon run is pointless, you go in a loop and we have cars. The point is to do the run yourself unaided.

That a computer can play a virtual instrument better than me (and continuously better than anyone) has little bearing on whether or not I continue practicing on my piano.

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nickorlow 2 hours ago | parent [-]

The world at large does accept LLM-derived code as comparable. The same cannot be said for driving v. running 26 miles.

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_aavaa_ 2 hours ago | parent [-]

I think the analogies are not helping us. This started by comparing LLMs to performance enhancing drug being used within the same sport.

But software engineer, as a job rather than a hobby, has always been about results. Hence my original point.

Hence my confusion. I am not perusing my hobbies for “the world at large” I’m perusing them for myself; being able to drive 26 miles makes no difference to me nor to the others who wish to run it.

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nickorlow an hour ago | parent [-]

I think many people derive joy from hobbies because they get a unique skill as a result of time invested. If the Philadelphia marathon started giving out medals to people who drive the course in a car, I think less people would want to run it.

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_aavaa_ 32 minutes ago | parent [-]

I agree, but they would move on to another marathon that didn’t hand out prizes to drivers.

People who continue to do the hobby without LLMs will still get unique skills, like woodworkers who don’t use power tools.

I understand that this is a loss for those who were pursuing programming as a hobby only as long as it gave them a unique skill and made them feel superior to others. However, for better or worse, I can’t bring myself to care about that.

	▲	nickorlow 19 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Not sure how you got the 'made them feel superior' part.