Karpathy's critique

Quoting AI superstar Andrej Karpathy:

"There are a lot of videos on YouTube/TikTok etc. that give the appearance of education, but if you look closely they are really just entertainment.

This is very convenient for everyone involved: the people watching enjoy thinking they are learning (but actually they are just having fun).

The people creating this content also enjoy it because fun has a much larger audience, fame and revenue.

But as far as learning goes, this is a trap. This content is an epsilon away from watching the Bachelorette. It's like snacking on those "Garden Veggie Straws", which feel like you're eating healthy vegetables until you look at the ingredients."

He said this not recently; a few years ago, in fact.

But I completely and totally agree.

There is something wrong with most professional training right now; it is "edutainment" at best, designed to make you feel good that you're doing something to improve your skills. But actually not. In terms of professional development, you have wasted your time.

Which is related to the email I sent yesterday, titled 'Fake system design' - dig that up and read it, if you did not already. It's the same life-wasting thing I was talking about there.

Let me state clearly:

Boosted Code is bursting with ambitious rigor.

It's fun, mind you. Because building amazing skills is a ton of fun, even if it's not easy peasy every step of the way.

But shallow 'edutainment' this is not. If you want to feel like you're progressing, without doing what it takes to actually progress, then look elsewhere.

When someone joins Boosted Code, the intake survey ends with the question: "Anything else you'd like to say to the instructor?"

And someone who joined responded with:

"JUST MAKE THE COURSE RIGOROUS"

(in all caps, exactly like that)

To which I say: absolutely, my friend. Count on it. Because 'RIGOROUS' is what Boosted Code is all about.