Comment by andai

Recently, after a month of heavily AI assisted programming, I spent a few days programming the good old fashioned way.

I spent most of the time confused and frustrated, straining painfully against the problem. I spent most of my 7 hour session this way, and the task was successfully completed.

But I was startled by the difficulty. I began to worry that I had given myself some kind of brainrot from disuse. Then I remembered, my goodness, it always felt that way, if I was ever doing something new. That's just what it feels like, grappling with a problem you haven't seen before.

It was always as hard as that, I was just no longer used to the feeling. You get used to the difficulty, and then it feels normal.

Or indeed: you get used to its absence, and then it suddenly feels overwhelming and "wrong" !

I think maintaining the capacity to tolerate difficulty and discomfort is a "muscle" well worth preserving.