The Lost Art of Manual Code

Ever find yourself in a late-night video rabbit hole, mesmerized by someone hand-carving a wooden spoon from a raw log? Or watching someone use primitive survival skills to build a shelter from scratch?

There is something deeply satisfying about watching a master work with their hands. It feels honest. It feels real.

We are moving fast into the era of "Vibe Coding". Soon, writing syntax by hand will be viewed just like that carved spoon—a slow, artisanal craft in a world of instant mass production.

But there is a quiet power in knowing how things work under the hood.

The Survival Test

What happens when you cut the Wi-Fi and the AI goes dark?

• Can you still center a <div> without a prompt?
• Can you write a reduce function from scratch without a machine's help?

Why the Craft Matters

Relying entirely on generated code is fine until the "black box" breaks. Mastering the fundamentals isn't about being stuck in the past; it's about digital survival. When the automation fails, the engineers who understand the "how" and the "why" are the ones who will still be able to build.

I'll use the AI, but I'm keeping my manual craft alive, too. Just in case.