Hacker News: kikkupico

New comment by kikkupico in "Ambient CSS v3 – Blender meets CSS"

kikkupico — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 13:57:22 +0000

The Blender connection - https://github.com/kikkupico/ambientcss/blob/master/ambient3...

New comment by kikkupico in "Ambient CSS v3 – Blender meets CSS"

kikkupico — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 23:44:47 +0000

The threejs scene in the docs is only for explaining the setup; it doesn't have a raytracer to render shadows accurately. The reference renders for the CSS were done in Blender. See https://kikkupico.github.io/ambientcss/ambient-css/grounded#... for examples.

New comment by kikkupico in "Ambient CSS v3 – Blender meets CSS"

kikkupico — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 21:52:02 +0000

With the knobs, I just figured out the problem was a stray div from an earlier version of the app overlapping the knobs in the components section of the demo app. I've fixed that now. Checked in both desktop and android Chrome and looks ok. haven't tested in mobile safari yet.

P.S: I agree knob controls in general are terrible UX. A real knob is usually turned with two fingers and the way on-screen knobs are operated is nothing like that.

New comment by kikkupico in "Ambient CSS v3 – Blender meets CSS"

kikkupico — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 21:42:25 +0000

Orthographic projection was chosen here deliberately - that's why elevation makes no difference to the size of the object but changes the shadow. Perspective projection won't work well with scrolling because the angle of the object would have to subtly change when the user scrolls. Orthographic projection doesn't need to handle that.

The docs have a page where the lighting and camera setup is explained with an actual threejs 3d scene - https://kikkupico.github.io/ambientcss/guide/concept/#how-it... . Hope it helps!

Regarding the textures, they respond to lighting but not especially well. In the demo app, you can scroll to the materials page and use the theme switcher at the top to see how the texture respond.

Ambient CSS v3 – Blender meets CSS

kikkupico — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 15:35:11 +0000

Article URL: https://ambientcss.vercel.app/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49523387

Points: 299

# Comments: 97

New comment by kikkupico in "Thinking Fast, Slow, and Artificial: How AI Is Reshaping Human Reasoning"

kikkupico — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 19:08:08 +0000

Contrary to the general opinion, I feel that AI has IMPROVED my cognitive skills. I find myself discovering solutions to problems I've always struggled with (without asking AI about it, of course). I also find myself becoming much better at thinking on my feet during regular conversations. I believe I'm spending more time deep thinking than ever before because I can leave the boring cognitive stuff to AI, and that's giving my mind tougher workouts and making it stronger; but I could be completely wrong.

New comment by kikkupico in "A sufficiently detailed spec is code"

kikkupico — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 05:39:58 +0000

> The point I’m making is that determinism isn’t the key difference between compilers and LLMs

I think you misunderstood. Determinism is the the difference between natural language and code. It's not about LLMs vs compilers.

New comment by kikkupico in "A sufficiently detailed spec is code"

kikkupico — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 20:40:57 +0000

> C code admits many assembly interpretations and the assembly you get will vary depending on your compiler and parameters.

There's your own example defining how code is deterministic. Despite being compiled to different assembly interpretations, the code does the same thing.

New comment by kikkupico in "A sufficiently detailed spec is code"

kikkupico — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 06:02:40 +0000

Natural language is fluid and ambiguous while code is rigid and deterministic. Spec-driven development appears to be the best of both worlds. But really, it is the worst of both. LLMs are language models - their breakthrough capability is handling natural language. Code is meant to be unambiguous and deterministic. A spec is neither fluid nor deterministic.

New comment by kikkupico in "Stop Anthropomorphizing the Machine"

kikkupico — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 16:20:26 +0000

Wow! I just wrote the article "Stop trivialising AI: it’s not your intern, colleague or compiler" today and shared on HN - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47274213 - but I talk about different dangers though. Enjoyed reading your viewpoint.

Stop trivialising AI: it's not your intern, colleague or compiler

kikkupico — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 12:34:01 +0000

Article URL: https://www.kikkupico.com/posts/stop-trivialising-ai/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47274213

Points: 5

# Comments: 0

New comment by kikkupico in "Ask HN: Why spec-driven development when code IS spec?"

kikkupico — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 22:00:23 +0000

Fair enough! Business and user perspectives are meta-data that explain the intent behind the code. I disagree with the point that intent should be the source of truth, though. Intent, like you explained, is high level and lacks the details to be an unambiguous source of truth.

New comment by kikkupico in "Ask HN: Why spec-driven development when code IS spec?"

kikkupico — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 12:01:36 +0000

> You can argue that you can just ask the LLM to explain back and forth but it can still be too much.

But then you'd get an explanation tailored to your specific perspective instead of a generic one, right?

New comment by kikkupico in "Ask HN: Why spec-driven development when code IS spec?"

kikkupico — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 11:59:29 +0000

What do we gain by maintaining a high level view instead of asking an LLM to explain the code at a high level when required?

Ask HN: Why spec-driven development when code IS spec?

kikkupico — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 11:46:44 +0000

Code, as such, is a detailed, verifiable spec that a machine can execute. LLMs are already great at translating code to natural language and vice-versa. Why do we need a second, less detailed and less verifiable copy of the code?

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47194035

Points: 2

# Comments: 7

New comment by kikkupico in "Show HN: Ambient CSS – Physically Based CSS and React Components"

kikkupico — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 07:16:45 +0000

Thanks for the feedback! I agree there needs to be visual indication for the knobs' min and max points. I'm thinking about how to do this without adding visual clutter.

New comment by kikkupico in "Show HN: Ambient CSS – Physically Based CSS and React Components"

kikkupico — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 14:56:04 +0000

Thank you! I just changed the knob control gesture/drag logic and it doesn't work like a vertical slider anymore.

New comment by kikkupico in "Show HN: Ambient CSS – Physically Based CSS and React Components"

kikkupico — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 14:54:59 +0000

Made the knob controls more intuitive now. Please check it out!

New comment by kikkupico in "Show HN: Ambient CSS – Physically Based CSS and React Components"

kikkupico — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 14:10:12 +0000

Thanks for the feedback! Click and scroll up/down to turn the knobs. I will fix this as it isn't an intuitive way to control knobs. EDIT: Done! Please disregard this comment.

Show HN: Ambient CSS – Physically Based CSS and React Components

kikkupico — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 13:42:32 +0000

Hello! AmbientCSS is a side project I started 5 years ago because I found the lack of realism in CSS shadows jarring. So, I tried to create a more realistic and consistent shadow system for CSS. It grew too complex and I gave up. Now, thanks to LLMs, I was able to revive it. As such, it's good enough to play with but might not be good enough for production use.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47047391

Points: 9

# Comments: 9