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← The argument about whether programming is engineering is conducted…
17 connected korrents · 14 moments on record from 28 Oct 2011 to 26 Aug 2026.
Everything filed under LLMs
LLMs
Everything filed under mathematics
mathematics
Everything filed under formal proof
formal proof Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Read this korrent: The argument about whether programming is engineering is conducted entirely by people who have never worked as engineers. The argument about whether programming is engineering is conducted entirely by people who have never worked as engineers. Last stated 6 years ago
18 Jan 2021
HW
Hillel Wayne — holds since 2021-01-18 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Programming is mathematical work: it uses discrete mathematics rather than the continuous mathematics people picture when they say maths. — tap to centre the map on it Programming is mathematical work: it uses discrete mathematics rather than the continuous mathematics people picture when they say maths. Last stated 6 years ago
18 Jan 2021
HW
Hillel Wayne — holds since 2021-01-18 — tap for who they are
Same subject: He is a software writer, not a software engineer, and the engineering label flattens what most programmers actually do. — tap to centre the map on it He is a software writer, not a software engineer, and the engineering label flattens what most programmers actually do. Last stated a year ago
12 Jul 2025
DH
David Heinemeier Hansson — holds since 2025-07-12 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Software developers probably are engineers after all, on the evidence of the people who did both jobs -- though that research was done before LLMs. — tap to centre the map on it Software developers probably are engineers after all, on the evidence of the people who did both jobs -- though that research was done before LLMs. Last stated a month ago
29 Jul 2026
HW
Hillel Wayne — holds since 2026-07-29 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Much of the wisdom programmers pass on to each other is nonsense that nobody ever tested, and refusing to be dogmatic about untested practice is what marks out a good engineer. — tap to centre the map on it Much of the wisdom programmers pass on to each other is nonsense that nobody ever tested, and refusing to be dogmatic about untested practice is what marks out a good engineer. Last stated 2 weeks ago
26 Aug 2026
CM
Casey Muratori — holds since 2026-08-26 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Software engineers behave as though the world exists in the repository, and it does not: the world is production. — tap to centre the map on it Software engineers behave as though the world exists in the repository, and it does not: the world is production. Last stated 4 weeks ago
12 Aug 2026
CM
Charity Majors — holds since 2026-08-12 — tap for who they are
Same subject: People who worked as traditional engineers before moving into software say that software engineering is real engineering. — tap to centre the map on it People who worked as traditional engineers before moving into software say that software engineering is real engineering. Last stated 6 years ago
18 Jan 2021
HW
Hillel Wayne — holds since 2021-01-18 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Programming, not diagramming, is where an engineer actually learns, because code is the point at which you can no longer fool yourself about what you understand. — tap to centre the map on it Programming, not diagramming, is where an engineer actually learns, because code is the point at which you can no longer fool yourself about what you understand. Last stated 2 months ago
1 Jul 2026
KB
Kent Beck — holds since 2026-07-01 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Almost nothing programmers believe is unique to software is actually unique to software. — tap to centre the map on it Almost nothing programmers believe is unique to software is actually unique to software. Last stated 6 years ago
20 Jan 2021
HW
Hillel Wayne — holds since 2021-01-20 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A language model is no substitute for a well-specified conventional algorithm, so it cannot simply be dropped into a complex problem and trusted. — tap to centre the map on it A language model is no substitute for a well-specified conventional algorithm, so it cannot simply be dropped into a complex problem and trusted. Last stated a year ago
7 Jun 2025
GM
Gary Marcus — holds since 2025-06-07 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A language model is not using language at all, because language requires an intention to communicate. — tap to centre the map on it A language model is not using language at all, because language requires an intention to communicate. Last stated 2 years ago
31 Aug 2024
TC
Ted Chiang — holds since 2024-08-31 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A language model's apparent mind is mostly our own bias: it predicts text, and leverages our evolved habit of attributing intentionality to anything that acts human. — tap to centre the map on it A language model's apparent mind is mostly our own bias: it predicts text, and leverages our evolved habit of attributing intentionality to anything that acts human. Last stated 2 years ago
22 Apr 2024
SC
Sean Carroll — holds since 2024-04-22 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A proof and an explanation are different things, and a theorem can stay an unsolved expository problem long after it is proved. — tap to centre the map on it A proof and an explanation are different things, and a theorem can stay an unsolved expository problem long after it is proved. Last stated 2 months ago
30 Jun 2026
GS
Grant Sanderson — holds since 2026-06-30 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A stream of AI-written papers with any error rate at all becomes insufferable, because finding the error costs more than the paper is worth even at ninety-nine percent. — tap to centre the map on it A stream of AI-written papers with any error rate at all becomes insufferable, because finding the error costs more than the paper is worth even at ninety-nine percent. Last stated 2 months ago
30 Jun 2026
GS
Grant Sanderson — holds since 2026-06-30 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Academic credentials — grades, major, the prestige of the degree — barely matter to industry hiring. — tap to centre the map on it Academic credentials — grades, major, the prestige of the degree — barely matter to industry hiring. Last stated 15 years ago
28 Oct 2011
PM
Patrick McKenzie — holds since 2011-10-28 — tap for who they are
Same subject: AI-written code makes formal proof necessary, because human review of all that generated code becomes the bottleneck. — tap to centre the map on it AI-written code makes formal proof necessary, because human review of all that generated code becomes the bottleneck. Last stated 5 months ago
22 Apr 2026
MK
Martin Kleppmann — holds since 2026-04-22 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Formal verification is about to become economical, because models are getting good enough at writing the proofs that humans no longer have to. — tap to centre the map on it Formal verification is about to become economical, because models are getting good enough at writing the proofs that humans no longer have to. Last stated 5 months ago
22 Apr 2026
MK
Martin Kleppmann — holds since 2026-04-22 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Formalising a proof in Lean currently takes about ten times the effort of writing it out: doable, but annoying. — tap to centre the map on it Formalising a proof in Lean currently takes about ten times the effort of writing it out: doable, but annoying. Last stated a year ago
14 Jun 2025
TT
Terence Tao — holds since 2025-06-14 — tap for who they are
At the centre
The argument about whether programming is engineering is conducted entirely by people who have never worked as engineers.
Holds HW Hillel WayneRead this korrent →
Programming is mathematical work: it uses discrete mathematics rather than the continuous mathematics people picture when they say maths.
Holds HW Hillel Wayne
He is a software writer, not a software engineer, and the engineering label flattens what most programmers actually do.
Holds
Software developers probably are engineers after all, on the evidence of the people who did both jobs -- though that research was done before LLMs.
Holds HW Hillel Wayne
Much of the wisdom programmers pass on to each other is nonsense that nobody ever tested, and refusing to be dogmatic about untested practice is what marks out a good engineer.
Holds CM Casey Muratori
Software engineers behave as though the world exists in the repository, and it does not: the world is production.
Holds CM Charity Majors
People who worked as traditional engineers before moving into software say that software engineering is real engineering.
Holds HW Hillel Wayne
Programming, not diagramming, is where an engineer actually learns, because code is the point at which you can no longer fool yourself about what you understand.
Holds KB Kent Beck
Almost nothing programmers believe is unique to software is actually unique to software.
Holds HW Hillel Wayne
A language model is no substitute for a well-specified conventional algorithm, so it cannot simply be dropped into a complex problem and trusted.
Holds GM Gary Marcus
A language model is not using language at all, because language requires an intention to communicate.
Holds TC Ted Chiang
A language model's apparent mind is mostly our own bias: it predicts text, and leverages our evolved habit of attributing intentionality to anything that acts human.
Holds SC Sean Carroll
A proof and an explanation are different things, and a theorem can stay an unsolved expository problem long after it is proved.
Holds GS Grant Sanderson
A stream of AI-written papers with any error rate at all becomes insufferable, because finding the error costs more than the paper is worth even at ninety-nine percent.
Holds GS Grant Sanderson
Academic credentials — grades, major, the prestige of the degree — barely matter to industry hiring.
Holds PM Patrick McKenzie
AI-written code makes formal proof necessary, because human review of all that generated code becomes the bottleneck.
Holds MK Martin Kleppmann
Formal verification is about to become economical, because models are getting good enough at writing the proofs that humans no longer have to.
Holds MK Martin Kleppmann
Formalising a proof in Lean currently takes about ten times the effort of writing it out: doable, but annoying.
Holds TT Terence Tao