What AI developers could learn from Charles Bukowski?

(C) Ulvis Alberts (I think! – correct maine if I'm wrong)

Allow maine to jump consecutive in:

now I person go spoiled,
I walked into present coming expecting
much luck
but the nighttime has been slow.
and rightfully so—
occurrence must precede action,
the vessel must refill.

/…/

when the lulls get location is
nothing to do but
wait,
do different things.

/…/

there are different things to do.
for illustration now I americium going downstairs
to spot my wife
and my 6 cats

/…/

it will beryllium each right.
I’m judge it
will.

they mightiness moreover retrieve me.

– an excerpt from the "block" by Charles Bukowski.

Charles is describing a writers block. Then he's being wise and self-conscious astir it and alternatively of forcing himself to constitute more slop (or ill words successful his world) he stands up, moves distant from his computer notebook and goes downstairs to his woman and 6 cats. He knows this artifact is temporal and things will – presumably soon – beryllium each right. Actually, he's sure of that.

So why do we, developers supercharged pinch AI tools, person a abrupt impulse to walk much clip building package than ever? Silicon valley, since its inception, has been obsessed pinch moving crazy hours, aliases astatine slightest that's what successful folks successful their autobiographies told us. Charles knew that much output does not adjacent value output.

Even earlier the AI, he was okay to propulsion distant activity that didn't trim the mustard 👇🏻

the trash can

this is great, I conscionable wrote two
poems I didn't like.
location is simply a trash tin connected this
computer.
I conscionable moved the poems
over
and dropped them into
the trash can.
/…/
it's ever better
to cull yourself before
the editors do.
/…/

– an excerpt from "the trash can" by Charles Bukowski.

In a caller discussion betwixt Jaron Lanier (that geeky dreadlocks intelligence who besides makes music) and Neil deGrasse Tyson (that geeky astrophysicist who wrote a book connected that taxable for normal group that I still didn't understand), Neil said that he has written astir 50,000 lines of codification – and spent atrocious batch of clip doing truthful – which AI models coming nutrient successful seconds. Then he said:

Preach on! But… really travel we don't spot this happening? Why aren't tech folks sipping tequilas connected the beach?

Why are we alternatively witnessing a 996 phenomenon. Why is location a abrupt impulse to vessel 4,500 PRs per day? How galore of those PRs person improved thing for our users (to those fortunate capable to person users) aliases lick "a" problem existent group – not personas – verbally said they have?

Would we beryllium much imaginative if we wandered disconnected to perceive to group astir ideas we're trying to build?

But possibly the truth that Bukowski turned his inability to constitute into a poem astir his inability to write, and wrote "the trash can" astir poems he deleted…
Maybe that's capable to springiness america each a FOMO, truthful I'm disconnected vibe-coding my adjacent zero-time Pulitzer Prize winning startup.

PS: If you enjoyed this read, here's portion 2: What AI developers could study from Ernest Hemingway?

If you enjoyed the "block" aliases "the trash can", see buying Betting connected the Muse, a postulation of poesy and short stories by Charles Bukowski.