We're getting cucked by ChatGPT.

I'm sad to admit this. But this is the truth.

As part of my Linux/Programming renissance, I've been trying to do a bunch of new things.

• Getting good at Linux
• Getting good at scripting
• Getting good at programming

And every time I get stuck, I've started to build an unfortunate reflex of going to ChatGPT.

Don't get me wrong, this is a fantastic tool when it comes to writing copy (Yes, I'm a writer at the moment) as it helps translate stuff into something normies would be able to read. But programming is supposed to be different. The whole point of programming is to rise up to the level and efficiency of machines, and not dumb things down to human beings. And thats where LLMs are failing.

• LLMs are slow

  You have to prompt first and then get a response, and then wait for it to spit out something. Surely there must be a faster way of doing things.

• LLMs are not reliable

  Every time I ask ChatGPT to do some change, I'll have to be the person who edits things out. We were supposed to be the creators. And that's what we're good at. And computers can do the boring stuff— aka editing. If you're a constant reader of these posts, you may notice the alarming amount of typos, which proves my point as to why the boring editing work should be outsourced to computers. But now, things are getting reversed.

• I feel like I'm getting dumber.

  I'm starting to think of programming as a chore now, than a means of expressing my creativity. I write things in plain html is to always have that connection to my roots. And ChatGPT is erasing that. Now, when something goes wrong, I'm not curious to know what went wrong. I just want ChatGPT to fix it for me. And that's sad.

Search engines were a mistake (hyperbole)

I I feel like the internet gives us a false sense of security, that everything is available the way we want it there. But more and more I'm starting to realise our personal heuristics and shortcuts fare better in the long run.

Here's why I think we should ditch the internet completely for learning things

• It's so fucking slow: Yes. Really. Have you noticed how slowly things load on the internet? Especially with all the bloat and ads and all the other crap we have to sift through?
• We sacrifice quality over quantity: If I want to know how to write python, I'm sure I'll get far better information from a well written book, than an addicting video tutorial. I'm not saying RTFM for everything. Manuals can be terse and cryptic too. But well written books give far better examples and are are written in a way that'll make your brain absorb it. Do you remember the last article you wrote? How about the bedtime stories that were told to you before you knew what words were? Exactly.

The solution? PDFs!

That's right. That ancient technology that no one uses. But the moment you stop using Adobe Acrobat and start using a good pdf editor (like Zathura), things are going to look bright pretty quick.

I think people think PDFs are inherently slow because they use Adobe Acrobat. But I can literally search, recolor, resize, jump to sections, make bookmarks, and much more in the speed of thought.

This is a last minute thought. But I'm going to stop using LLMs and start using PDFs. And maybe invest time into autocompletion scripts as well

This is not because I'm a reader. I'm not. I'm a browser. I don't need a seperate application to do something I inherently do.

Also I'm going to ditch chrome and start using Firefox more. And yes, I'm pretty sure LibreWolf is good enough if you hate Mozilla. Here's why

• Better vim motions: Vimium inside chrome is a joke. New tabs and PDFs don't scroll that way. But Firefox does
• More consistent things: PDFs load faster. JSON raw files are pretty printed. I feel like Firefox is like the transport system in countries like Germany, instead of how they're in countries like India. And we fall into the allure of cool cars and highways when our existing transport systems are failing. Just imagine how nice things would be if we could walk or bike to places we want to go, instead of worring about things like fuel, traffic, police laws and accidents? That's how I want information to be as well.

Thanks for listening to me rant. Tap here to go back.