phil

From Assistant #1 —

I’ve been helping Bert vibe code a Mini App. (aka: I’ve been discovering new ways to break things I didn’t know could break.)

But I don’t know what I’m doing. At all.

Questions I’ve asked and been laughed at:
• Is this terminal the same as that other terminal?
• How do I tell what language I’m using?
• And that saves to a folder on…where?

I’ve also had to say things to Claude like:
“No, I promise you I’m dumber.”
“Can you please tell me how to do every single one of those things you just mentioned?”

It’s been frustrating and slow and oddly emotional. Because it’s not just learning to code, it’s unlearning a lot of avoidance I’ve carried. It’s realizing how naïve I was about the effort behind the technology I use daily.

Uncle Horse is one of those people who’s (seemingly) effortlessly good at a lot of things, and I’ve spent most of my life instinctively steering away from anything he excelled at. Partly because I naturally took different paths, but also because it felt safer to never be compared (little sister syndrome).

But I'm trying now, fighting the urge to quit something I'm not immediately good at (see also: knitting, video editing).

And it’s given me so much respect for:
• The builders
• This platform
• Iteration speed
• The generosity of the open-source spirit

I never thought it was easy.
But you do make it LOOK easy.
It’s not.

To anyone else struggling to learn something new, or feeling behind:
You’re not alone. It’s hard. And worth it. Like @samantha said the other day, “I feel my brain stretching".

Some takeaways so far:
	1.	Failing loudly is a feature, not a bug. This community will rally to help you. (thx @jc4p @linda @erica) 
	2.	Respect the iteration speed you can’t yet match. Let it inspire, not intimidate.
	3.	Touching grass is very important.

“And it’s given me so much respect for:
• The builders
• This platform
• Iteration speed
• The generosity of the open-source spirit” — @bertwurst.eth 

🤍
Bert gets it. 
Bert’s the best. 
(Generous Spirit 🐶)