Re:Programming Still Sucks
by Brian_K_White on Thursday May 07, 2026 @12:42AM
(#48045463)
It's not absurdist. It's shining a light on something that actually exists and is absurd.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
It only 'shines light' on the mental disposition of the author.
Re:Programming Still Sucks
by stevenlangbroek on Thursday May 07, 2026 @01:00AM
(#48045564)
hi, author here. what mental disposition would that be?
Whatever your mental disposition is.
The writing is an expression of a state of mind through an absurdist voice, not any kind of reasonable articulation of reality. It's at least a much about the lens as it is the subject. Which is fine, if we ingest it roughly from that purview.
Re:Programming Still Sucks
by stevenlangbroek on Thursday May 07, 2026 @01:47AM
(#48045862)
the writing is a tribute to a 2014 similar article, based on my experiences since. it is absolutely a reasonable articulation of reality, although through a sarcastic or satirical lens. you might have different experiences, that doesn't invalidate mine.
your experiences (and probably mine as well) are not a reflection of the general reality of the industry - that's the root of the problem; the writing is a projection, not a reality. The writing is fine (even good) as a personal story, not in the manner in which people here seem to be interpreting it.
Re:Programming Still Sucks
by stevenlangbroek on Thursday May 07, 2026 @02:54AM
(#48046270)
i dunno. i'm happy to read in the comments here (and elsewhere) that my experience is not unique, many others have similar experiences and are going through the same feelings: grief. i think we're allowed to grieve, don't you?
Re:Programming Still Sucks
by senordevnyc on Thursday May 07, 2026 @04:31AM
(#48046905)
I hear a lot more rage, envy, cynicism, bitterness, nihilism, and and learned helplessness than grief.
Re:Programming Still Sucks
by stevenlangbroek on Thursday May 07, 2026 @04:56AM
(#48047077)
it sounds like you should learn a bit more about grief. also, please, for god's sake, read the original. I've linked to it in at the top of the article. As to envious, I'm a Director of Engineering. What exactly do you think is left for me to be envious of? The levels above (VP, SVP, CTO at a non-startup) are outside of my interest.
Re:Programming Still Sucks
by senordevnyc on Thursday May 07, 2026 @12:12PM
(#48051168)
Chill dude, I was talking about the comments here.
I do not see that in the article. For me it was irony written well.
I think you're extrapolating on something that hasn't even happened yet. We're still hiring juniors. They're thriving with LLM coding. They're learning rapidly.
I actually enjoyed your writing (though it does mimic a certain style I see coming out of the US), and I even enjoyed what you wrote. A lot of it definitely resonates, but you could have omitted any mention of AI, written it 20 years ago, and expressed the same sentiment. And I guess that is the main point "greed is to blame, not AI".
Re:Programming Still Sucks
by Brian_K_White on Thursday May 07, 2026 @04:21PM
(#48054389)
I think there is another "mental disposition" in need of some examination.