I understand what you’re saying but while artisan printing and calligraphy are visible articulations of the craft, skill, care and attention that go into their making, do you think the same can be said for “artisan, human-crafted code”?
It’s a genuine question, and whether your answer is yes or no I’d be interested to hear your opinion on why.
My opinion is it’s unlikely that human-crafted code will have the same inherent value that human crafted typography does, for all sorts of reasons to do with the way we can consume physical artefacts of language vs the way we consume code.
But I’ll also admit that my thinking in this - as regards code - is not particularly nuanced because I commission code rather than write it, so I’m interested in “does it do the job effectively” vs “is it inherently beautiful”.
When I was in the workplace, I enjoyed the actual practice of analyzing problems and writing code to address those problems. There was a certain satisfaction in knowing that I wasn't engaged in some behavior I enjoyed that was less than efficient for my employer -- there didn't exist an AI that I could unleash on the problem or that I could consult to help me write the code. Now (I imagine) a programmer who enjoys the act of programming cannot in good conscience write code "by hand" -- he is wasting time getting the product out unless he utilizes the AI. But from subjective standpoint of the programmer, using an AI is like using an AI to do the New York Times crossword for you -- where's the fun in that?
That’s an interesting point that I’d not considered. You’re essentially saying “code for code’s sake”, or “writing code in order to achieve a personal rather than industrial objective”, right?
By which I guess we are talking “personal code projects that don’t necessarily serve a commercial end”?
Someone could code for the same reasons a person might make art.
Professional artists don’t always ignore the commercial aspect of their work. But often those projects allow making work that is not driven by commercial concern.
That doesn’t make an artist’s paying work any less art when an artist considers making art the important outcome rather than the made artifacts.
It’s a genuine question, and whether your answer is yes or no I’d be interested to hear your opinion on why.
My opinion is it’s unlikely that human-crafted code will have the same inherent value that human crafted typography does, for all sorts of reasons to do with the way we can consume physical artefacts of language vs the way we consume code.
But I’ll also admit that my thinking in this - as regards code - is not particularly nuanced because I commission code rather than write it, so I’m interested in “does it do the job effectively” vs “is it inherently beautiful”.