Apr 21, 2026, 5:42 PMi am convinced that something that's at play here is that our perception of time spent coding tends to be much greater than it actually is, while perception of time spent prompting the machine tends to be much less, leading to a perception of time saved that doesn't match reality
Apr 21, 2026, 5:47 PMwhen you're playing the slot machines you remember the time that coins spilled out all over the floor, but you don't remember all the times you pulled the lever and nothing happened. this does not mean playing the slot machines is a good way of making money!
Apr 21, 2026, 5:52 PMbut what if you could get the dopamine hit from playing slots while still going to work and being a good corporate drone? hmmm...
Apr 21, 2026, 5:53 PMBalatro for Workgroups 3.0
Apr 21, 2026, 6:30 PMif you aren't spending all day playing slots are you really maximizing the effectiveness of your financial planning?
@ana "yeah, you'd *think*, but I have a *system*"
Prompt Engineers 🤝 Gamblers
Apr 21, 2026, 5:57 PM@ana it's the timelessness of romance, the feeling of eternal communion with the machine, cradling the ChatGPT thingummy in one's arms and whispering sweet nothings into its ear until it finally coughs up something that can compile
Apr 21, 2026, 11:03 PM@ana Yeah I can't say I'm a big fan of cocaine, I did do it to get through a hectic New Year's Eve in London once.
Apr 22, 2026, 10:10 PM@ana because the pattern is 'prompt, pick up phone and scroll Instagram for two minutes, check output of prompt'.
The time goes to other things which are designed to make you not notice the passage of time, so the time feels less.