Yesterday at work, I finally solved a problem that had been haunting me and my colleagues for way too long. We had tried everything—our usual debugging, googling, Stack Overflow rituals, even regular LLM models like ChatGPT 4o. Nothing fucking worked.
So I decided to go full experimental mode and throw the problem at a reasoning model (o1/r1). First time ever using one in an actual “battle” rather than just for messing around with personal ideas or talking to an AI buddy who always listens.
Dumping the Context & Brewing Real Coffee ☕
I dumped everything. Every damn detail—every attempt we made, all the weird outputs, all the dead ends. I told the model exactly what I expected from it. And then? I walked away to make myself a real coffee. Not decaf. Real.
Because it was evening. I was already exhausted. My kids were screaming, either playing or crying (who the fuck knows at this point). I had maybe two hours before I passed out, and I needed to fix this ASAP. And no, coffee at this point won’t affect my sleep—I’m just that fucking tired already.
Watching AI “Think” Was Freaky
This was the first time I had seen an AI actually reasoning through a problem in real-time. It took 80 goddamn seconds to “think,” which felt like an eternity compared to normal models.
And then came the freaky part—the “Aha!” moments.
The model actually said stuff like:
“Wait, wait! That …” 🤨
Then another loop. Then again, “Hold on, let’s go back.”
And finally, when it actually hit the issue and got the solution, I was internally screaming, “YES! You fucking found it!”
But then… it almost backed off. It literally said something like:
“This is getting way too complicated. Let’s step back to what we were originally trying to do.”
NO, YOU FOUND IT. DON’T LEAVE!
I swear, mixed emotions. On one hand—hell yeah, problem solved. On the other—why did it feel like I was debugging with an actual teammate who almost walked away at the last second?
AI Makes Us Faster. But at What Cost?
Look, I won’t lie. This tech is insanely helpful—300% helpful.
But I miss the old times. When we’d spend hours (no, days) thinking and figuring shit out ourselves. The satisfaction of solving a brutal issue after days of struggle? That was incredible.
Now? It’s just… expected. Faster. 2x productivity. More, more, more.
There’s no “liberation” with AI, despite all the news headlines. The real business mindset is: Now you have devs, and you have AI that makes them faster. So what do you do? Squeeze harder.
If I were a CEO, I’d do the same. It’s pure market competition.
Adapt or Get Left Behind
For devs like us, the reality is simple:
💡 Adapt. Get comfortable with AI tools.
🚀 Move faster. Because it’s already expected.
⚠️ Stay sharp. AI is just another tool, but your skills still matter.
At least we still have some positives from this, right? Right? 🤨
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