Vibe Coding: The Art of Frivolous Programming
After enduring a grueling 11-hour bus ride from Poland to Germany, I found myself reflecting on the whirlwind of ideas that accompanied my journey. Despite the exhaustion, I was invigorated by the creative energy sparked by my coding projects with AI. This episode dives into the exhilarating process of "vibe coding," where I explore how AI has transformed my ability to bring ideas to life, from building simple apps to immersive 3D games. We also tackle the growing pressure to monetize our passions in a world that often undervalues creative pursuits, and how this mindset can stifle genuine exploration. Join me as I share my thoughts on navigating the intersection of technology and creativity, and the importance of staying engaged in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
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Takeaways:
- Traveling from Poland to Germany turned into an exhausting 11-hour ordeal on a bus, highlighting the unpredictability of public transportation.
- The excitement of coding with AI can lead to unexpected productivity, even during long hours on a bus.
- I've discovered that the creative process is just as rewarding as finishing a project, and it's vital not to lose sight of that joy.
- Vibe coding is a fun and accessible way for people to engage with technology without getting bogged down by technical details.
Links referenced in this episode:
Returning from a chaotic journey, I found myself reflecting on the benefits and drawbacks of travel. The 11-hour bus ride from Poland to Germany was supposed to be a simple, seven-hour trip. However, unexpected delays at the border turned my plans upside down. Despite the discomfort of being cooped up in a bus for hours, I discovered a surprising silver lining: the opportunity to dive deep into my passion for coding with AI. As I sat in a comfortable front seat, I was able to explore new ideas and projects, creating a 3D game and coding tools that I had long dreamed of but struggled to realize alone. This experience highlights the tension between the monotony of travel and the creative energy that can thrive in unexpected situations. The conversation then shifted towards the concept of “vibe coding,” a term I use to describe playful, spontaneous coding aided by AI. I delved into how this new approach has transformed my creative process, allowing me to work more efficiently and effectively than ever before. AI becomes not just a tool but a collaborator, helping me refine my ideas and overcome the mental blocks that previously hindered my progress. As we discussed the significance of pursuing creativity for its own sake, I reflected on how the pressure to monetize every hobby can stifle our intrinsic motivation to create and explore. The journey also sparked a discussion about the challenges contemporary creators face in a world that increasingly demands practical outputs from our passions. While I find joy in coding without the expectation of immediate profit, many around me struggle to justify their creative pursuits. This leads to a larger conversation about the evolving landscape of creativity and technology, and how we must adapt to thrive in a world where AI plays an ever-growing role. As I look towards the future, I’m excited to see how these developments will shape not only my work but also the broader creative community.
Transcript
So I returned from my trip last night.
Speaker A:It was just a horrendous trip.
Speaker A:It was supposed to take.
Speaker A:Well, if I was to take a train, it would be five hours because I thought it'd be fun to try going on a bus.
Speaker A:It was supposed to take seven hours, but I was.
Speaker A:Somehow I was going to put up with it, maybe because the bus was cheaper.
Speaker A:Now from seven hours, it turned to 11 because of the waiting time on the border.
Speaker A:On the German border.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I traveled from Poland to Germany in 11 hours.
Speaker A:And I'm just wrecked today.
Speaker A:I'm absolutely wrecked.
Speaker A:But there's also this tension.
Speaker A:I've got this energy and wanting to do things while being tired because I was sitting all day.
Speaker A:You know, something is to be said also about my biggest occupation right now, mental occupation, which is this coding with AI, because for the first time, AI is able to helped me to do things I always wanted to do.
Speaker A:And every single project, every single test I do, I find myself actually completing those projects, completing those ideas, which is.
Speaker A:It's entirely new thing for me, you know, because it used to be that I would.
Speaker A:I'd have an idea, I'll be convinced that it's crate and I'm able to do this.
Speaker A:And then the whole idea would crash because obviously there was like a big, big block I wouldn't be able to deal with on my own.
Speaker A:And there was really nobody to collaborate with most of the time.
Speaker A:So on my hard drive, I've got just a lot of projects of different kinds, digital and analog, that nothing ever happened, you know, so it used to be very frustrating.
Speaker A:But I. I've learned that the goal is not to finish the project.
Speaker A:The goal is to pursue something.
Speaker A:The goal is to.
Speaker A:To have a desire to.
Speaker A:To be in the creative flow.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker A:Yes, it's great to complete things, but the process, the process itself is already a reward.
Speaker A:And obviously now we are living in those times where we kind of need to monetize every hobby.
Speaker A:How did that happen and why does it have to be like that?
Speaker A:Well, that's what it is.
Speaker A:Sometimes it's just hard to justify doing something that you know is not gonna profit you in some way.
Speaker A:I think it's a very, very bad situation because there's less and less things that are creative that actually remain as a way to entertain yourself or to discover something about yourself.
Speaker A:But it doesn't really affect me because I spend way too much time doing things that just make no pragmatic sense.
Speaker A:Well, that was the case until Vibe coding, and I use the term Vibe coding very loosely because I don't think I really do vibe coding.
Speaker A:I have no problem with the name.
Speaker A:The Vibe coding, I believe is referred to something you do very frivolously, where you so called single shot your idea and AI does all the work, especially the coding work.
Speaker A:You know, you say, hey, AI make an app that does something and AI does it and it seems okay, but it's crap.
Speaker A:That's vibe coding.
Speaker A:Coding with AI is where you're refining your idea and you're working with a structure and you kind of know what you're doing.
Speaker A:Now I feel like this premise is flowing Lord, because ultimately AI will know what kind of process to follow, what kind of structure to follow.
Speaker A:So I feel like it's a very temporary situation where we're trying to justify our place in the whole process.
Speaker A:You know, in the future AI will take over and we will be the, the weak point in the whole process.
Speaker A:I don't think it's a, an original idea.
Speaker A:I've seen this being discussed already.
Speaker A:But yeah, it definitely resonates with me.
Speaker A:So yeah, that's, that's pretty much what I was doing for those nine or ten, ten hours on the bus.
Speaker A:And then the last hour was basically trams and city trains.
Speaker A:But while I was on the, on the, on the bus I had a very comfortable seat, I have to say.
Speaker A:It was a front seat on the bus and I was coding away with AI.
Speaker A:I was iterating on this project and I have to say I'm now pivoting, truly pivoting from web apps to those 3D games.
Speaker A:And I'm really proud of myself how I pivoted because I used to be over occupied with Unreal Engine, which is a very bloated game engine system for making games.
Speaker A:Now it's so over complicated that it's just really hard to do anything with it.
Speaker A:But I moved into this open source tiny engine and my AI just, it even creates models in it.
Speaker A:So I created this, I guess it's my default project.
Speaker A:It's a corner store in Brooklyn.
Speaker A:In the 90s, an AI did a basic model without traffic outside and the shop clerk is able to speak and I can have conversation with it.
Speaker A:And it runs on local AI, which means my conversation is not going anywhere.
Speaker A:So I kind of have this entity on my hard drive.
Speaker A:It feels very bizarre.
Speaker A:So yeah, that's what I was doing.
Speaker A:So in a way, you know, I've been busy with this project and I really didn't care about how much, how much time passed by or how Much how delayed I was.
Speaker A:In fact, you know, we're waiting on a border for about two hours in this long queue of trucks and buses.
Speaker A:Horrible.
Speaker A:I don't know how come I didn't account for that initially.
Speaker A:I was supposed to go with my daughter.
Speaker A:She would be unbearable on this bus.
Speaker A:She'd be so frustrated and so tired.
Speaker A:I was so glad I was traveling on my own.
Speaker A:But anyway, I was in this queue of cars and trucks and I was glad because I was able to work in a very stable environment.
Speaker A:You know, the bus was not bouncy, it was very comfortable.
Speaker A:So in a way I didn't mind that it took so long.
Speaker A:Of course, ultimately I would prefer to be at the comfortable desk at home, but that's what it was.
Speaker A:That's kind of my counter argument for driving.
Speaker A:I would much rather be a passenger than a driver because when you drive you just really need to focus on the road.
Speaker A:All you can do is maybe call somebody or listen to a podcast or talk to somebody doing just that for five to seven hours.
Speaker A:It's quite boring.
Speaker A:Now I'm recording this because I want to reflect on my basically obsession with coding AI.
Speaker A:I'm just so over occupied with this, I guess for a couple of reasons.
Speaker A:One being I can finally do things I always dreamed of doing.
Speaker A:But also it's so addictive, you know, I'm doing things so fast.
Speaker A:Like I made this game in just about a few days and then, you know, I spent additional day just tweaking it, refining it, adding more nuances to it.
Speaker A:But you, you say you tell to AI what you want it to do and then it just does it and you wait a moment, a few minutes and you just keep on moving so fast.
Speaker A:It's kind of hard to stop yourself from keep on doing it, you know, it's just really addictive.
Speaker A:Now another reason is I want to build a business around it because I could be doing the same thing for others who don't even know where to start.
Speaker A:So during my visit I unfortunately had to spend a lot of time fixing my family computers and problems they had, unfortunately, because it really frustrates me because I was mostly tired throughout my stay.
Speaker A:I didn't really get enough rest since arriving even, you know, I was just tired all the time and I had to spend all this time focusing and trying to solve problems on computers.
Speaker A:But of course I, I did have a, a bit of satisfaction there because I was able to help them with something, I was able to contribute somehow, you know.
Speaker A:But yeah, during my stay I did I vibe coded two things for my family.
Speaker A:I did a bit of a demo for my sister.
Speaker A:I coded kind of a PDF converter for her to solve a particular problem for her.
Speaker A:And then I also set up my brother in law with Codex so he can basically vibe code his own website.
Speaker A:It was really fun to teach him how to do it.
Speaker A:And I, I did do the website for him with AI and that process was really satisfying.
Speaker A:And then I helped him to set him up for the future.
Speaker A:It was just something I knew I helped him a lot with.
Speaker A:And then I tested it inadvertently for sort of proofing it as a service I could provide to somebody.
Speaker A:So I feel like this could be my next gig because it kind of makes people, non technical people, it helps them to do what, whatever they got stuck with.
Speaker A:And even though for me it's satisfying and easy, I feel like many people just, they just don't know where to start.
Speaker A:And it's really interesting and frustrating at the same time because I feel like all this information is there and they're just not reaching out for it.
Speaker A:I had this conversation with my sister.
Speaker A:I told her, you have to do it, you have to read about it, you have to educate yourself about it, because that's how this world now works.
Speaker A:Like this is one of the essentials, you know.
Speaker A:And she said she didn't have time for this, she couldn't find time.
Speaker A:And I would still argue that there has to be time for it.
Speaker A:You know, like half an hour, 20 minutes every day, just go through some news, watch some YouTube videos about AI, stay up to date because at some point, and it's actually happening now, people are, people think that AI is basically ChatGPT and ChatGPT is all that they should be concerned about, which is so untrue.
Speaker A:And it just baffles me how they think.
Speaker A:So many people think, not just my sister, but my sister knows now more because I had conversation with her.
Speaker A:It puffles me how people think that, oh, AI has been invented now and that's it.
Speaker A:ChatGPT and you know, that's it.
Speaker A:They kind of feel like it's done.
Speaker A:In the world of technology, nothing works like that.
Speaker A:You know, there is a.
Speaker A:The car was invented like over 100 years ago and there's no stopping to this progress, right?
Speaker A:We're so far ahead from.
Speaker B:Fort.
Speaker A:Was it Fort T or Ford A Fort D. Right.
Speaker A:And you can hardly call the first car a car by today's standards.
Speaker A:So it's essential to be on top of the technology, even though it might be not Your interest, not something you're into.
Speaker A:You kind of have to, I think.
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker A:Well, because if you're not, you'll stay behind.
Speaker A:You will be doing things the old way, and it will end up taking way too much time and energy, and you'll be just moving too slowly.
Speaker A:I feel like setting up a website today can be a matter of one afternoon.
Speaker A:In old ways, it would take you a month to make the right choice,.
Speaker B:To.
Speaker A:Buy the right service, get the designer, or to get a web creator thing and then eventually do it, come up with a name and stuff.
Speaker A:Now you can do it just with one AI tool and it just happens.
Speaker A:And it's really hard to reject the need and the necessity to be online.
Speaker A:And if you do things manually, you just.
Speaker A:You just don't exist.
Speaker A:I think you're moving too slow.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's.
Speaker A:That's enough on that rant.
Speaker A:I don't know if you're still there.
Speaker A:Something I want to address is also, I've changed the name of this podcast, something I've been trying to optimize because I've noticed this podcast is kind of overridden by bots, which is very misleading because I really don't know who is actually listening at this point.
Speaker A:So I decided to change the naming convention, hoping that there'll be more of organic traffic.
Speaker A:And I really don't know what to think right now because downloads tanked since I've made those changes.
Speaker A:It could be because of Easter holidays.
Speaker A:But, yeah, there's just something I'm trying and it's possible I will start over, which is something I really don't want to do.
Speaker A:You know, sort of dump everything and start a new podcast.
Speaker A:Yeah, I don't think I'll do that, but I've been listening a lot to the right strategy right now with the market being so overwhelmed with content, the best advice, it seems, is you need to pick a niche that's really, really specific.
Speaker A:Like in this case, you'll be recording podcast on the go.
Speaker A:That could be a podcast or.
Speaker A:Something very specific.
Speaker A:Like podcast about little hardware stores,.
Speaker B:Where.
Speaker A:In each episode we go into different hardware store and explore what's inside.
Speaker A:I'm saying this because I'm just about to go into one.
Speaker A:I want to get some supplies for a new project I'll be pursuing.
Speaker A:I need a bendable copper wire and some players, so let's see what they have.
Speaker A:I'll tell you more about it in a sec.
Speaker A:All right, I just got a bunch of wire and the pliers and I'll be Making some sculptures with it.
Speaker A:I probably have to stop now because I'll be collecting my daughter.
Speaker A:But I think I'll just tell you later on what I came up with.
Speaker A:Let's just say I'll resume in the evening, in about nine hours.
Speaker A:That's when I'll go to sleep and I'll be able to continue.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:It's now a lot later in the day.
Speaker B:It's after 9pm So I guess it's.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:Maybe.
Speaker B:Maybe it's exactly what I estimated.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's late at night, and I have a couple of hours before I will need to go to sleep as well.
Speaker B:But my daughter is asleep now, and I'm trying to wrap the day up.
Speaker B:I probably won't have enough time to do my stuff, but I'll just do essentials.
Speaker B:It's one of those frustrating moments in a day where I realized that majority of my day was taken away from me.
Speaker B:That's not entirely true because I feel like I had a very, very cheerful and satisfying day with my daughter.
Speaker B:We didn't see each other for a week, and as is always the case, I see a huge developmental change in her every week.
Speaker B:There is a set of new expressions, new behaviors.
Speaker B:She's more resilient, more curious, more wise.
Speaker B:So even though my free bird lifestyle is taken away, I feel like it's replaced by something a lot more meaningful.
Speaker B:That doesn't mean that I have agency around that.
Speaker B:No, that's exactly the opposite.
Speaker B:I just need to be there for her, and I look for things that are satisfying and those things are deeply meaningful.
Speaker B:But I'm digressing.
Speaker B:I wanted to talk to you about the.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:What's the word for that?
Speaker B:It's like a.
Speaker B:A wire that's wrapped around a piece of cardboard.
Speaker B:Or maybe it's a little PVC pipe, a bundle.
Speaker B:A bundle of wire and pliers.
Speaker B:I quickly realized I'll need a couple of more tools, maybe more variety of wire.
Speaker B:But I'm building up to set up this little mechanical mechanic workstation.
Speaker B:I had this idea of creating those lightweight, hollow mini sculptures by bending wire.
Speaker B:I'll be creating this illusion of volume, and it's not an original idea.
Speaker B:I saw those sculptures by a French sculpture, modernist sculpture from France.
Speaker B:I don't remember his name right now, but they really resonated with something I was doing in VR.
Speaker B:There is this application on Meta Quest.
Speaker B:I. I cannot think of the name, but it allows you to create 3D models and sculpt in 3D.
Speaker B:It's it's really satisfying.
Speaker B:And I created a couple of sculptures using that method.
Speaker B:It's actually really useful if you want to create something spacious, spatial.
Speaker B:Spatial.
Speaker B:But you don't have much space.
Speaker B:You just create it in virtual reality and you have this illusion of additional space.
Speaker B:You just cannot fit into your life.
Speaker B:So, yeah, in fact, I do have this warehouse.
Speaker B:I guess I could call it a warehouse.
Speaker B:And I've been playing with this wire that I've been positioning in the space just by waving my hand.
Speaker B:And that, that process alone was extremely satisfying.
Speaker B:But the sculpture, obviously it exists only in that private, artificial space.
Speaker B:So I was thinking of bringing that into real life.
Speaker B:But as a trade off, I was thinking of making it a lot smaller.
Speaker B:Don't ask me why I want to do this.
Speaker B:I guess I just want to create those artifacts that symbolize something and maybe they even capture something.
Speaker B:And the more of AI and digital stuff there is, I'm automatically drawn into analog realm.
Speaker B:That is definitely the case with calligraphy and art of writing.
Speaker B:Handwriting.
Speaker B:I absolutely adore handwriting.
Speaker B:I. I like to practice it.
Speaker B:I like to doodle.
Speaker B:And I never thought of it as something worthless.
Speaker B:You know, doodling, I think, can be such a satisfying and expressive method of making a visual statement.
Speaker B:And I tend to carry my notepad and pen, but there isn't that many opportunities when I can.
Speaker B:When I can play with it.
Speaker B:In fact, whenever I do something in notepad in a public place, I feel like I'm gathering a lot of attention.
Speaker B:People are intrigued because hardly ever anyone is using pen and paper in public.
Speaker B:It is, in fact, very a common medium.
Speaker B:It's very inconvenient in many ways.
Speaker B:Isn't that strange?
Speaker B:People express themselves.
Speaker B:They record their thoughts using a thumb or two thumbs at best.
Speaker B:Typing on a piece of glass, it's just so bizarre.
Speaker B:So whenever I do use my notepad, I need to do it in a really awkward position because of course, I need something to prop the notepad or notebook on.
Speaker B:And it's usually my lapse.
Speaker B:And that obviously opens up my page to everyone who wants to look at it.
Speaker B:And because what I'm doing is, I will say so myself, it's quite nice looking.
Speaker B:It definitely attracts a lot of attention.
Speaker B:So on a few occasions, I snapped a lot of eyes looking at what I've been doing.
Speaker B:And if this thing is private, I. I feel rather comfortable.
Speaker B:But once again, I'm digressing.
Speaker B:I really want to try to express my ideas using a copper wire.
Speaker B:And I'm thinking it'd be nice to weld it, to twist it, to.
Speaker B:To attach it into a concrete base.
Speaker B:And I don't know if it continues to be satisfying.
Speaker B:And if I.
Speaker B:If I like the process, I would be increasing the size.
Speaker B:And no, I'm not thinking of publishing it online or selling, unless I have too many, then I will just consider it.
Speaker B:But that's.
Speaker B:That's the idea.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I've been playing with this bundle of wire a little bit, but I realized in order to do something that I have in mind, I need a little bit more equipment.
Speaker B:So maybe.
Speaker B:Maybe tomorrow, maybe tomorrow there's a couple of interesting hardware stores nearby.
Speaker B:We could turn this into a project.
Speaker B:Yeah, I will.
Speaker B:I'll do just that.
Speaker B:Thank you for listening.
Speaker B:I think this episode is long enough.
Speaker B:I'm not so sure about the meaning, the message, but I will.
Speaker B:I'll leave that for you to figure out.
Speaker B:As always, I invite you to comment and engage with me on my email, but I'm also starting up my Instagram channel.
Speaker B:I feel like I need to at least be there a little bit, at least as an experiment.
Speaker B:So Instagram will also be mentioned in the show notes and there is nothing there just yet, but I will probably be more present on that profile in the coming days.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:Stay healthy and happy wherever you are, whatever you do.
Speaker B:Bye.
Speaker B:Bye.
