May 2025 – Software and Other Shenanigans

Abstractions are 1 of those things that are fairly easy to understand the basics of, but hard to really do right. They’re a tool used to simplify code by using a simpler-to-understand proxy (like a database record or a class/interface), but that doesn’t really scratch the surface of how to use them well vs. just tossing in them into code because you’re supposed use them. Done well, abstractions let you move forward while keeping just the right level of detail in your head. The problem is that almost everything we do in programming is just layering abstractions over real-world processes and behaviors. That makes it deceptively easy to have software that feels like it’s in the way more than it is actually helping anything.

I really wanted to call this “The AI trap,” but I try not to ascribe to malice what I could explain with ignorance, apathy, and/or stupidity, and given that I generally don’t ascribe the level of foresight and deliberation needed to execute a “trap” to the types of people running large public companies, “trap” isn’t the right word. But even so, this push to start using AI to do as much as humanly possible has already generated content about the plight of junior devs. What I’m worried about is senior developers (yes, I am technically considered a “senior” dev, so there is some self-interest here) are about to walk themselves into a nasty setup they’re never going to recover from.

Software and Other Shenanigans

Abstractions are hard to get right

The AI pitfall