The analogue programmer in the land of LLMs

A self-described old-school programmer reflects on using LLMs for code generation, sharing a concrete example of generating a Ruby deduplication script. While the tool saved time, the author grapples with the cognitive trade-offs: not learning anything new, a sense of dissonance about skipping the creative process, and the risk of mental atrophy. The conclusion is nuanced — LLMs are useful but come with hidden costs to developer growth and satisfaction.