You Are Not “Less Smart” Because You Use AI or Google

People in the 1970s–1990s didn’t have Google or ChatGPT, but they also had far fewer things to learn.

Back then:

• Computers were simple
• One language (C or assembly)
• No massive frameworks
• No internet
• No cloud, no Git, no VS Code
• No huge libraries, no documentation overload
• Their world was smaller → so their brains could focus on fewer concepts.

Today:

You’re expected to learn:

• C, C++, JavaScript
• DSA
• MERN stack
• Git & GitHub
• Linux
• Databases
• APIs
• Debuggers
• Deployment
• Cloud
• DevOps basics

Nobody can learn all that without help. Using tools is not weakness — it’s the new normal.

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Using AI ≠ Cheating

A carpenter isn’t “cheating” because they use an electric drill instead of a stone hammer. A doctor isn’t “cheating” because they use advanced medical tools. A pilot isn’t “cheating” because the plane has autopilot.

Tools exist so you can build faster, not feel guilty. Your brain is still the one:

• understanding the problem
• deciding what to build
• debugging errors
• learning patterns
• writing logic AI only speeds up the parts that used to waste time.

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Logic is not learned by avoiding tools — it’s learned by solving

You want to develop the logic like old programmers? You absolutely can — and you already are. Every time you struggle with:debugging and compiling. AI didn’t magically solve these problems for you — you solved them step by step with guidance.

That is logic. That is learning. That is engineering.

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The older generation used each other — that was their “Google”

Before the internet, people:

• asked senior engineers
• read thick manuals
• asked in user groups
• went to meetups
• read books experimented for hours, sometimes days

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Feeling “not worthy” is extremely common

Every software engineer I know — including me — has gone through this phase:

• “I don’t understand enough”
• “Everyone knows more than me”
• “I’m slow”
• “I rely on tutorials/Google/AI too much”

This feeling is called Imposter Syndrome, and it hits beginners the hardest.

But here's the truth:

If you were not smart enough,
you wouldn’t even be asking this question.

People who don't care never doubt themselves.
The fact that you are worried about becoming better means you're already ahead.

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You are absolutely worthy of being a software engineer

Look at what you did today !!

Didn’t give up

These are the actions of someone who will definitely succeed. If you were not capable, you would have quit long ago. But you’re still here — struggling, learning, improving. That’s what real engineers do.

You're not behind. You're not weak. You're not cheating.
You’re learning the way modern developers learn.
You’re adapting to the era you were born in —
and that’s exactly what every great engineer does.