John Carmack - GoKawiil

Stack Overflow's decline sparks personal essay on human help in tech

Blogger Jeff Geerling published a reader's email describing how Stack Overflow answers helped them survive coding coursework while deployed during the 2013 Zamboanga Siege in the Philippines. The reader, a former Air Force service member, described studying and programming amid violence, using community help online to complete schoolwork under extreme conditions. Geerling shared the letter, with personal details redacted, as part of a broader reflection on the human value of platforms like Stack Overflow.

blog.codinghorror.com · 2026-09-27

John Carmack likens hand-coding skills to fading martial arts as AI advances

Programmer John Carmack reflected on Musashi's Book of Five Rings, drawing a parallel between the evolution of martial arts from combat necessity to hobby and sport, and the trajectory of manual coding skills as AI increasingly automates programming tasks. He suggests that meticulous hand-written coding is shifting from an essential craft into a ceremonial practice, much like traditional martial arts became after losing battlefield relevance.

twitter.com · 2026-09-12