Re:Every search bar looks like a URL bar to users
by ryantgtg on Thursday October 14, 2021 @04:29PM
(#28869613)
Thanks. I think I’m just not at a programming level where my brain is working faster than my fingers. But I get it. I can relate in the following case: I like to write fiction, and lately I have been writing children’s stories that I’ve told my daughter as I put her to bed. I’ve found that I can invent and tell a pretty decent story in the span of 10 minutes. When I later write up that story, it takes me 1.5-2 hours. Adding in punctuation seems to slow me down the most, in part because those non-story elements distract me and mess up my flow. I’m testing whether it’s faster to use a voice to text app, and then edit in the punctuation at the end.
Then think in terms of friction - friction that prevents you from doing what you want.
The reason for pursuing this kind of efficiency in an editor is because the task of writing and editing text files is only means to an end as a programmer: your goal is to encode the program you have in your head in a form the computer could run. To persist a castle in the sand you're building. Your editor is usually the limiting factor on how fast can you do that. And this matter because the faster you go, the less friction you feel, the more time you have for the important part - thinking. If you can do this fast enough, cross a certain efficiency threshold, your mind will collapse the task, erase the perception of typing.
Think of what happens when you learn to drive, truly learn. Your car becomes an extension of your thoughts, not something you consciously give inputs to. Now imagine driving by having to type in commands like "accelerate" or "turn left". Now imagine the same, but through submitting paper forms.