A lot of the work has shifted or understood through the language of computers, mode of expression to a certain extent now brings screens in discussion, one form or the other. As someone who studied in an architecture school, it took a while for me to wrap my head around the need to think with computers (the innate human in me still runs away from it when the chance is offered). It bothered me and still bothers me when I work with the mechanical aspects of a code, yet I have come to terms about what are the upsides of knowing how to code (I feel coding is like always at the beginning of the infinity, one is always the start). There are few reasons or notes I have written to myself on the need to learn the code. When I say learning, I am referring to understanding. A lot of the points come from a specific context ( mainly at the juncture of design and tech ).

  • Code can create new things, but what’s different here? its the universality and reach that turns it into leverage.
  • I can communicate, interact across objects, people and abstractions.
  • I find it easier to learn than to avoid.
  • Code brings asymmetry of between the input and the output. I can make sense out of the chaos.
  • Vibe coding make less sense, nothing good comes out of copy pasting and whats the point if I dont know how things work.
  • Human senses are limited and sometimes misleading, I need a bridge to communicate with nature, code enables the shift of scales, from nano scales to the human eye.
  • I want to learn more about the nature and what are the ways I can interact with it. How do I program that interaction?
  • It certainly helps in filtering information, not only in the abstract world but in the physical world.
  • Its gives the access to convert and rewrite information in a way we can understand. A chip can be programmed to derive only specific signals, record particular type of information.

There’s nothing good or bad in knowing or not knowing what the code is about, but the question lies with efficiency. If creativity depends on how much I understand, then code works as a leverage in opening and interrupting new domains.