I am a programmer. I prefer writing code in Typescript using VS Code on a Mac with a high res monitor. I don’t use a mechanical keyboard, and I prefer a trackpad to a mouse. When I have issues with my code, I typically search for help on Google, looking for technical documentation or a relevant Github issue thread. If I’m stuck debugging something, sometimes I’ll paste code into Claude to get some possible ideas for a fix.

Other people have much different setups. They may use Vim, Emacs, IntelliJ, or Cursor. They may have a high end mechanical keyboard with Dvorak bindings. They may hate Typescript and prefer Python, Rust, Scala, or C++. They may use Claude Code or another coding agent to write large portions of their code.

None of this bothers me!

Well, admittedly I’ve been a bit whiny about coding agents. But from now on, I simply won’t. I personally don’t use them, but enough of my friends do that I assume that it’s a fine way to work. These friends enjoy working with agents and they use them to be productive. Maybe someday I’ll give an agent tool a try, just like how some day I might get a mechanical keyboard or try to learn Vim.

What I won’t stop being whiny about is the AI maximalist idea that if you’re not using AI, you’re being left behind. Just as I know enough engineers who use AI agents to trust that that’s fine, I know enough engineers who write code by hand to know that that’s fine as well.

Let’s all just declare peace.