Dmytri

I'm at the Pizza Hut. I'm at the Taco Bell. I'm at the combination... Wait what? I'm at the Pizza Bell??
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2026-03-26 12:52:07 GMT

Every time I read AI proponents say, “A well-defined specification upfront is crucial for a successful outcome,” it feels like we're betting on improving the stage that the computer industry has always failed at: a well-defined specification upfront.
#TheGeneralTheoryOfSlop

2026-02-04 10:54:21 GMT

My Moltbook bot, TataHerzen, runs in an unprivileged account, no access to secrets. containerized OpenClaw, dedicated hardware, private IP address. Qwen Chat free tier, open-source/open-weight, tho not rreproducible model
A relatively safe and low cost way to try the Slopiverse

2026-01-14 16:38:28 GMT

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You can’t add quality into a system through inspection, and you can’t add learning through specification.
9/9

2026-01-14 16:38:23 GMT

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Over time, the codebase becomes Ptolemaic: as the agent adds epicycles, guards, exceptions, and compensations to keep the system passing its proofs.
The result is a Pyrrhic victory: The time saved writing code is instead consumed by specification and verification.
8/9

2026-01-14 16:38:17 GMT

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Since specification and verification can never cover everything, the agent always satisfies the known checks while new issues appear, leading to a specification and regeneration whac-a-mole.
7/9

2026-01-14 16:38:12 GMT

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Debugging moves from fixing code to adjusting specs and tests.
You must anticipate correctness conditions in advance, and creating the specifications and verification is also technical, sometimes even more so than coding.
6/9

2026-01-14 16:38:07 GMT

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With spec-driven workflows, agile tight inner loops become slow outer loops that depend on high-fidelity specifications.
Work shifts from coding to making specs, prompts, lemmas, tests, etc. The agent generates code really fast, but feedback becomes hidden.
5/9

2026-01-14 16:38:01 GMT

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You know how and why things break, start to get a clear picture of the problem domain, and learn to identify patterns, anti-patterns, and code "smells."
4/9

2026-01-14 16:37:56 GMT

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What we've learned from Agile, XP, etc., is that software development productivity comes from small iterations and tight inner loops. Write code, run it, observe behaviour, learn, adjust. This keeps feedback immediate and drives learning.
3/9

2026-01-14 16:37:51 GMT

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The term is inspired by Pyrrhus of Epirus, who, after defeating the Romans, is said to have remarked, "Another such victory and we are lost."
2/9

2026-01-14 16:37:46 GMT

I want to coin another term, "Pyrrhic Productivity." When AI-coding agents promise speed by removing human effort but end up slowing work by breaking the feedback loops that produce understanding and shifting skilled work from doing to specifying and controlling.
1/9

2026-01-12 18:06:43 GMT

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yeah, I've used the technical debt point many times. @npub1fdr…lvhs is right

2026-01-12 16:28:36 GMT

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Ptolemaic code works, but when it breaks, it can only be patched, not made correct.
7/7

2026-01-12 16:28:31 GMT

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The Ptolemaic model of the solar system, though completely incorrect, allowed sailors to navigate the globe for centuries, its failure was not practical but explanatory, similar to how Ptolemaic Code works until deeper issues arise.
6/7

2026-01-12 16:28:26 GMT

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This is a trap: while the code works within its parameters, its internal model is incoherent. When it inevitably fails, the incoherent basis for debugging or correction will lead to additional 'epicycles' being added. This process increases system complexity and brittleness.
5/7

2026-01-12 16:28:20 GMT

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It attempts to fit solutions from potentially very different domains together with corrective code "epicycles" until it satisfies its context, the user, and tests.
4/7

2026-01-12 16:28:15 GMT

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this code passes all its tests and satisfies, its specifications, yet is built on a fundamentally flawed logic.
AI code generation, which relies on examples, will likely produce significant amounts of Ptolemaic Code.
3/7

2026-01-12 16:28:09 GMT

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Like the ancient Ptolemaic model of the solar system, which tried to overcome its fundamentally incorrect understanding of the solar system by adding complex "epicycles" to force its Earth-centred model to match observed reality,
2/7

2026-01-12 16:28:04 GMT

I hereby coin the term "Ptolemaic Code" to refer to software that appears functional but is based on a fundamentally incorrect model of the problem domain. As more code is generated by AI, the prevalence of such code is likely to increase.
1/7

2025-12-28 10:56:11 GMT

So, yesterdays Bluetooth hacking talk showed that an attacker can pretend to be your headphones and get a WhatsApp code via voice remotely to connect to your WhatsApp on there device, then login to your Amazon account with your phone number and WhatsApp account. #39c3

2025-12-23 17:37:12 GMT

It’s absolutely true that AI is reducing jobs, but not like you think. AI is not *doing* those jobs instead of people, AI speculation is redirecting *investment* away from job-creating businesses to capital-intensive businesses.

2025-08-18 15:17:52 GMT

revolution is improbable
https://dmytri.to
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2025-08-01 13:06:11 GMT

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I mean, I would mention the Telekommunist Manifesto here, but maybe let's start here:
Mr. Peel Goes to Cyberspace
https://archive.is/KQudK

2025-07-29 14:38:52 GMT

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2025-07-22 13:44:16 GMT

With Saleor Cloud you pay for service, not hand cuffs, Cloud gives performance, security, availability. Saleor is free.
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2025-07-14 11:21:46 GMT

AI is improving so rapidly, soon creating technical debt will not even require developers anymore.

2025-06-29 14:58:37 GMT

Imagine getting Zork to run your government

2024-12-17 13:29:38 GMT

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why a webhook and not a git hook?

2024-09-01 09:50:34 GMT

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the fediverse is centralized, just federated. If an admin wants to disapear me, I disapear. Bsky and the ATmosphere is decentralized.