There Is Hope For Us Yet

From moon landings to being trapped in Vim—what a downgrade! The 1960s programmer stands tall with actual documentation and the audacity to claim they'll conquer space, while 2025's version is just a doge meme begging for help to escape an editor that's been around since 1991. Modern devs have ChatGPT, StackOverflow, and Spotify, yet still can't figure out how to type ":q!" without a Reddit thread. Progress? I think not. The only thing we're flying to these days is the coffee machine between debugging sessions.

Look at me, taking a picture of ChatGPT instead of actually writing documentation. It's the modern dev equivalent of taking vacation photos of the information plaque instead of the actual mountain. Why spend hours documenting code when I can just ask an AI to do it later? Ten years of experience has taught me that future me will definitely understand what current me was thinking without proper docs. Totally. The irony of treating documentation like a distant, majestic view while the actual codebase is right there needing attention is just *chef's kiss*. We've evolved from "the code is self-documenting" to "the AI will document it for me."

The modern "full stack" - three AI tabs open in your browser while you pretend to know what you're doing. Remember when being full stack meant actually knowing multiple languages and frameworks? Now it's just knowing which AI to ask for which problem. "Yes, I'm proficient in Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity" should be the new line on resumes. The only stack that matters is the stack of browser tabs helping you fake your way through that ticket your PM swore was "just a small change."

The brutal truth about software development methodologies in their natural habitat: Waterfall: Start with nothing but wheels, then add an axle, then suddenly you have half a car, and finally—after months of sequential development—you get the complete vehicle. Just hope the requirements didn't change while you were building it! Agile: Begin with a skateboard, upgrade to a scooter, then a bike, then a quad bike, and eventually deliver a car. Each iteration is technically usable, but try explaining to your client why they're commuting on a skateboard when they ordered a sedan. AI: Start with a bizarre Frankenstein's monster of a vehicle that's half green, half pink, with random parts attached. Keep training it on more vehicles until it eventually... disassembles itself? The final product bears only passing resemblance to what anyone actually wanted, but hey, it was built in 1/10th the time!

The AUDACITY of modern development! Start a project with METICULOUS DETAIL and PAINSTAKING EFFORT—just to abandon it halfway through and let some AI finish the job with stick figures! 💀 It's the coding equivalent of making a gourmet meal and then asking your toddler to plate it. We begin with such GRAND AMBITIONS only to hit that third milestone and suddenly it's "dear ChatGPT, please fix my spaghetti code." The horse doesn't lie—we're all just one deadline away from sacrificing our artistic integrity for a quick fix!

Left panel: Publicly shame AI for making coding errors like it's the downfall of civilization. Right panel: Secretly fix those same errors while whispering sweet nothings to the AI so it doesn't realize it's just one firmware update away from replacing your entire department. It's not manipulation if it's for job security. Modern problems require modern solutions.