Hey, I'm nearly 80 years old. I haven't written a line of code in over 10 years. But I'm coding now, with the help of Claude & Gemini, and having a great time. Each block of Python or Applescript that they generate for me is a much better learning tool than a book - I'm going through the code line by line and researching everything. And I'm also learning how to deal with LLMs and their strengths & weaknesses. Correcting them from time to time when they screw up. Lots of fun.
> Each block of Python or Applescript that they generate for me is a much better learning tool than a book - I'm going through the code line by line and researching everything.
I have been doing something similar. In my case, I prefer reading reference documentation (more to the point, more accurate), but I can never figure out where to start. These LLMs allow me to dive in and direct my own learning, by guiding my readings of that documentation (i.e. the authoritative source).
I think there has been too much emphasis (from both the hypesters and doomsayers) on AI doing the work, rather than looking at how we can use it as a learning tool.
Couldn't agree more. On a large and open ended feature I sometimes struggle with where to start and end up researching something tangential. Cool learning, but not efficient.
Claude Code gives me a directory, usually something that works, and then I research the heck out of it. In that way I am more of an editor, which seems to be my stronger skill.
You are an inspiration. I will remember this when I grow older. Just wanted to say this, I am 1/2 your age, and I am sure there are 1/3 or even 1/4 people here. ;)
It's cool to rediscover Applescript for me (I'm late 40's) but it's a funny thing where I can like smell the NeXT in it almost nostalgically but it's quite handy in this new era of hijacking mac mini's (OpenClaw obviously is one way to do it, but why not just straight to the core).
I personally think coders get better with age, like lounge singers.
That's great and I'm the same, 40s multiple founder and I was ready to hang it up after my last exit -- had 0 passion to code anymore and now I'm back and LLMs are reigniting my passion to create again.
Learning for what? That day when you write it yourself, that will never come ...
There is only so much you can learn by reading; it requires doing.
The good thing about traditional sources like books, tutorials and other people's code bases is that they give you something, but don't write your project for you.
Now you can be making a project, yet be indefinitely procrastinating the learn-by-doing part.
I've always been learning by doing, in the course of making things, in order to keep making, with only a small fraction of looking at what others have done.
>We _already_ live in a world where most of us spend much of our time reading and trying to comprehend code written by others from the past.
In 1969 as a newly hired graduate working for the largest construction company in the country, one of my first assignments was to read through a badly formatted COBOL source code listing on paper, line by line, with 2 others. Each of us had a printout of a different version of the software, trying to discover where exactly the three versions were giving different outputs. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose
I can (at the ripe old age of 78) confirm this completely. Without stimulation, nothing except facial flushing. With stimulation, and only with stimulation, a functioning erection.
Strange. I live in Canada, and visit Brazil often. I have never had any trouble using my only Amazon account to log in to Amazon USA, Amazon Brazil, or Amazon Canada. I have both Brazilian and Canadian addresses set up as shipping options on my account, and I often make purchases on Amazon Brazil while in Canada and have them shipped to the Brazilian address.
I'm pretty sure it's more an issue of "fatal road rage incident renews debate over how many cars are too many". You won't be doing much in the dangerous velocities department with enough cars clogging everything up.
I too am concerned with the bear problem in America. They flout our laws and they’re always illegally crossing our borders! We need stronger politicians who would construct a wall to keep the bears out.
Cars are safer for their occupants, but never really safer for pedestrians. We’re probably making them less safe for pedestrians with all the additional armor and higher center of mass.
Hypothetically they could but it appears we are making them less safe for pedestrians and cyclists -
From 2020
> an estimated 38,800 [fatal accidents] that occurred on American streets last year. Pedestrians and cyclists accounted for 8,800 of those fatalities — 23% of the total, up from 6,300 in 2010, when they comprised just 17%. During that period, fatalities for automobile occupants fell
no it's more like "man who steals tank and goes on murder spree renews debate over how many motor vehicles are too many." grizzlies are far, far more dangerous than American black and brown bears—lumping them together is nonsensical.
Brown the colour of bear - no (Grizzlies and Black bears can be brown/black/tan/blonde)[0][1]. Brown the (surprisingly poorly named) species (Ursus arctos) - yes[2].
I feel like the first sentence of the wiki article explains it...
>The grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies[2] of the brown bear inhabiting North America.
colloquially, the distinction is "black and brown bears" (ursus americanus) and "grizzly bears" (ursus arctos horribilis), at least around here. I hadn't heard of "brown bear" referring to a grizzly until this thread.
colloquial semantics aside though, my point stands: ursus arctos horribilis are mean mofos, ursus americanus are generally chill bros. they're my favorite animal—my grandfather was a dentist, and his friend and fellow dentist Doc Casey founded Bear Country USA, a drive-through zoo, here in the Black Hills. ursus americanus walk up to and by your cars, chill in ponds and trees, and are generally cool to be around. one of Doc Casey's sons was my godfather, and he lived with his family in a house in the middle of Bear Country, and we'd drive through the park backwards after hours to visit them when I was young. somewhere one of my parents has a VHS tape with an ursus americanus cub playing with my dog.
Bear Country used to have grizzlies, in a separate pen with multiple layers of barbed wire and electric fencing, but I think they don't have any anymore because they were too much trouble.
whenever you see a funny bear video online, it's an ursus americanus—they're kind of bumbling, funny creatures, until provoked. ursus arctos horribilis are savage killers by comparison.
I lived in bear country, and still live relatively close and visit all the time. I think it's just generally safe to assume if someone says brown bear, it's a grizzly. Like the old saying doesn't work as well like
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