This week's reading

8 articles · 8 highlights this week

• 5 Things World-Class Engineers Do That You Don't
  Steve Huynh · Capital Gains · 6 mins

  World-class engineers distinguish themselves not through raw intelligence or effort, but through strategic habits that prioritize continuous growth and organizational impact. Instead of waiting for annual reviews, elite engineers assess their progress on a monthly cadence, focusing on acquiring new, practical capabilities. They also recognize the limits of individual output by actively amplifying the work of those around them and absorbing technical complexity to deliver simplified, user-focused "packaged engineering" to their clients.

  Furthermore, top-tier engineers separate themselves from the crowd by tackling unglamorous, non-consensus problems that peers overlook, rather than competing on the same tasks as everyone else. They also transform personal failures into institutional assets by developing tools or workflows that prevent the team from repeating their mistakes. Ultimately, the career trajectory of these engineers is defined by their ability to scale their influence and turn setbacks into lessons for the entire organization.

  personal-growthengineering-careersoftware-engineering
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• The Tower Keeps Rising
  Armin Ronacher · pocoo.org · 3 mins

  The author argues that while AI-assisted programming significantly boosts individual productivity, it threatens the collaborative foundation of large-scale software engineering. Historically, the "friction" of manual development—code reviews, team discussions, and debugging—served as a necessary synchronization process, forcing developers to build a shared mental model of the system. By removing this friction, AI agents allow developers to make isolated, "vibecoded" changes that remain technically functional while eroding the collective understanding of the software's architecture.

  Unlike the biblical Tower of Babel, where the loss of a shared language caused construction to cease, AI-assisted development allows the "tower" to keep rising even after the architects have lost a unified understanding of the project. Because the code still compiles and tests continue to pass, the loss of architectural cohesion remains hidden, creating a dangerous disconnect where the system continues to grow in complexity despite the disappearance of the shared human knowledge required to maintain it.

  tech-strategysoftware-engineeringartificial-intelligence
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• Misery Loves Company—If There Are Snacks | The New Yorker
  Patricia Marx · The New Yorker · 1 min

  "Admin Nights" are becoming a popular trend where individuals gather—often virtually or in shared workspaces—to tackle mundane, long-avoided tasks like filing taxes or organizing emails together. By transforming solitary chores into a communal event, participants find that the social environment reduces the anxiety associated with administrative burdens and provides a shared sense of accomplishment.

  The sessions offer more than just accountability; they provide a psychological boost, often described as a relief or "Botox of completion," once the work is finished. Ultimately, the phenomenon suggests that the presence of others—and the occasional inclusion of snacks—can turn tedious, isolating responsibilities into a more manageable and satisfying group experience.

  digital-culturesociety-and-culture
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• Misery Loves Company—If There Are Snacks | The New Yorker
  Patricia Marx · The New Yorker · 1 min

  "Admin Nights"—organized communal gatherings where participants tackle mundane, neglected tasks like filing taxes or clearing email inboxes—are gaining popularity as a way to combat the isolation of modern productivity culture. By working in a shared space, participants trade the solitary burden of administrative drudgery for a collective experience that fosters accountability and social connection.

  The practice highlights a growing need for "body doubling," where the presence of others acts as a catalyst for focus and motivation. Ultimately, these sessions provide a psychological sense of relief, or "the Botox of completion," transforming stressful chores into a manageable, communal ritual that eases the weight of individual responsibility.

  digital-culturesociety-and-culture
  Source ↗ Readwise ↗
• How I Bought a Private Jet By Selling $10 Subscriptions to 404 Media
  Jason Koebler · 404 Media · 2 mins

  The article provides a satirical, behind-the-scenes look at the "get-rich-quick" influencer culture by documenting the author’s elaborate performance of wealth. While the author appears to be flaunting a luxurious lifestyle fueled by a successful media subscription business, the entire setup—including the private jet, the surging revenue notifications, and the "hustle" narrative—is revealed to be a staged fabrication filmed in a rented studio.

  By exposing the discrepancy between the polished, aspirational content on social media and the gritty reality of the production, the author highlights the deceptive nature of online business gurus. The piece serves as a critique of influencers who monetize "success" by selling courses on how to replicate their wealth, ultimately demonstrating that for many in this industry, the product being sold is simply the illusion of prosperity.

  mediaculturedigital-culture
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• How I Bought a Private Jet By Selling $10 Subscriptions to 404 Media
  Jason Koebler · Jun 30 · 404 Media · 2 mins

  The article exposes the deceptive nature of "get-rich-quick" influencers by documenting the author’s satirical attempt to simulate a luxury lifestyle. While posing in a rented studio space dressed to look like a private jet, the author staged fake Stripe notifications and manipulated revenue dashboards to create the illusion of earning millions through $10 subscriptions. The piece underscores how easily digital success can be manufactured to sell predatory online courses and lifestyle fantasies to unsuspecting audiences.

  Ultimately, the author reveals that the entire display—from the private jet to the $51,000 daily earnings—was a performance intended to mock the "hustle culture" industry. By juxtaposing the polished, aspirational social media content with the gritty reality of a $65 studio rental and background noise from a warehouse district, the article serves as a cautionary critique of the performative wealth and misinformation prevalent in online coaching spaces.

  mediaculturedigital-culture
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• Career advice in the age of AI
  Phil Chen · X (formerly Twitter) · 6 mins

  In the age of AI-driven coding, traditional skill sets like manual programming are becoming less critical as agents handle routine, well-defined tasks. Success now depends on your ability to identify meaningful, ambitious problems and effectively allocate resources—both human and AI—to solve them. Because AI democratizes the "average" output, true value is generated by those who can provide unique perspectives, focus on high-impact projects, and master the "last mile" of execution where attention to detail and rigorous iteration occur.

  Ultimately, the most valuable assets in this new landscape are your reputation, your professional network, and your ability to place yourself in high-growth environments. Instead of chasing short-term gains, early-career individuals should prioritize environments that offer exposure to frontier problems and foster strong relationships with other high-achievers. By cultivating a researcher’s mindset—focusing on curiosity, rigorous evaluation, and high-quality problem selection—you can distinguish yourself as someone who not only spots opportunities but consistently delivers exceptional, durable results.

  tech-strategyengineering-careerartificial-intelligence
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• In defense of not understanding your codebase
  seangoedecke.com RSS feed · seangoedecke.com · 6 mins

  The author challenges the traditional software engineering philosophy—often associated with Peter Naur’s "Programming as Theory Building"—that a codebase must be fully understood by developers to be effectively maintained. While this approach works for small, stable projects, the author argues it is impractical for large-scale corporate systems where complete understanding is impossible due to the sheer volume of code, legacy quirks, and team turnover. Instead, engineers must embrace a "partial understanding" model, where they learn the system incrementally by isolating specific flows and making educated, confident changes.

  Ultimately, the article frames "maintaining a mental theory of the codebase" as one engineering value among many, often to be weighed against business needs like speed, legal compliance, or project scope. While a total mental model is ideal for personal projects, professional software engineering requires a more pragmatic, "impure" approach. In large, complex environments, the ability to work effectively without total clarity is not a sign of failure, but a necessary skill for navigating the reality of modern software development.

  culture/essaysengineering-careersoftware-engineering
  Source ↗ Readwise ↗