Hacker News: zwilderrr

PDD – Psychopath Driven Development

zwilderrr — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 13:49:51 +0000

A lot has been discussed about why it's important not to anthropomorphize AI. But the trouble is that AI is just so anthropomorphic that denying it that status feels, to some degree, like lying to yourself. Who amongst us hasn't felt a twinge of hesitation before hitting Ctrl+C to end the conversation?

I think it's far better to take the stance, as many have pointed out, that working with AI is like working with a psychopath: productive, engaging, and even fun, but ultimately at your complete and total peril without serious guardrails and caution.

I think this is a much fairer approach, one that aligns more closely with both the reality of the experience and the reality of the danger.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47805942

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

Moments of joy != meaning (JS equality operator)

zwilderrr — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:37:46 +0000

Moments of joy can be meaningful, and they can even be coerced into being meaningful, but it's important to remember that they are not meaningful in and of themselves.

I think it's important to call this out because this conflation is oversold in marketing--and for good reason. We all want meaning, but it's hard to get. So, if we think we can get it with a moment of joy, which is much easier to achieve by comparison, we're sold.

It's also sold in the opposite scenario: one where the effective context is that there is no real meaning in the world, and the recommended fix is to fill the vacuum with joy to dull the pain.

Just a thought to start the day.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47543163

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

Expo Agent (Beta) [video]

zwilderrr — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 16:38:17 +0000

Article URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yyy32R0s2k

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47325609

Points: 3

# Comments: 0

New comment by zwilderrr in "Parallel coding agents with tmux and Markdown specs"

zwilderrr — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 21:25:30 +0000

I just can’t get over the fact that your Anglicized name sounds like manual shipper.

Tell HN: Setting boundaries with people

zwilderrr — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 17:14:23 +0000

I recently learned a formula from my son's playgroup teacher that has made boundary-setting much more palatable because it makes the whole thing feel less like a high-stakes endeavour. It goes like this:

"I know you want but ."

As it relates to playgroup: "Timmy (not my son's name, btw), I know you want to jump around right now, but there's a rule that we don't jump during circle time. If you want to jump, that's fine, but you have to go outside of the circle to do it."

Simple and effective, and not personal.

I had an adult version that happened this morning, where I said: "The opportunity sounds great but I have an investment policy that I check in with references first before I hand over those kinds of documents."

It wasn't personal, it wasn't an attack, it was just a .

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46618821

Points: 4

# Comments: 0

New comment by zwilderrr in "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (Nov 2025)"

zwilderrr — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 14:18:26 +0000

Taking any intention and turning it into an everyday reality. First app. React Native + expo/eas

https://trystriver.com

Show HN: Striver – organize and internalize what's important to you

zwilderrr — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 17:06:13 +0000

Sharing my first app, Striver. Made with React Native/Expo, deployed with EAS.

Generally geared towards folks who want to be intentional about what they're thinking and where they're thinking about it.

Helps you seperate your attitudes/beliefs/approaches to, for example, going to the gym, and family time at home.

It's decidedly unengaging, un-doom-scrolling, un-super-fun. Maybe to a fault?

Would love to get the community's thoughts.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45658303

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

A note of thanks

zwilderrr — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 14:15:32 +0000

My wife was one of the first to sound the alarms (to me, that is) about the layer of garbage code and massive "comprehension debt" AI is surely creating.

"Are CEOs aware that more and more, no one actually knows what they are doing?" she asked, in earnest.

When I told her that I'm actually seeing a shift in tech articles and memes expressing that sentiment, I wondered if what I was observing was actually true, or if my ultra-optimized media feeds were just showing me what I wanted to see.

But then I realized that I found many of those articles on hackernews! This made me grateful that there's a (somewhat) objective counterbalance in my life to what every other website tells me to think.

So, thank you.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45491685

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by zwilderrr in "Launch HN: Societies.io (YC W25) – AI simulations of your target audience"

zwilderrr — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 14:58:26 +0000

best of luck!! great idea. would love it see how it executes.

New comment by zwilderrr in "Launch HN: Societies.io (YC W25) – AI simulations of your target audience"

zwilderrr — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 13:36:27 +0000

"our biggest challenges are accuracy" lol

New comment by zwilderrr in "Ask HN: Can the React 19 hooks be found in the wild?"

zwilderrr — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 17:56:10 +0000

> botched right before 19 release

how do you know? have any articles on that? would be an interesting read..

Ask HN: Can the React 19 hooks be found in the wild?

zwilderrr — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 18:43:39 +0000

Wondering if anyone is actually using useActionState, useTransition, useOptimistic, etc, in the wild, or if they are still relying on form libraries and data fetching frameworks. If yes, please indicate what (size) company you work for.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44203773

Points: 4

# Comments: 4

New comment by zwilderrr in "Ask HN: Am I old?"

zwilderrr — Wed, 28 May 2025 16:47:52 +0000

lol

New comment by zwilderrr in "Ask HN: Am I old?"

zwilderrr — Wed, 28 May 2025 16:46:31 +0000

What's my point? That's a phenomenal question. I think my point was to see if anyone else out there shared my existential state. Now, of course I knew someone did, but there's really nothing like a good ol' confirmation from the other.

Ask HN: Am I old?

zwilderrr — Wed, 28 May 2025 13:55:25 +0000

I don't think I'm old, but I get great joy in writing a simple utility function by hand, without ai. Just yesterday I wrote a function that removes the ending punctuation from a string, if present, and adds a period instead. I also wrote onDone, onSubmit, and onCancel handlers using more than my tab key.

Yet it seems to me that this is quickly becoming the stuff of an older generation, of people who move slowly, of a dying breed who care about silly things like craft and form.

Don't get me wrong--I'm all over AI, especially at work where speed also counts. But there's something so satisfying in writing code without AI that it makes me wonder if, in fact, I'm quickly becoming irrelevant.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44116074

Points: 16

# Comments: 33

New comment by zwilderrr in "Show HN: EnkiTask: Lightweight Project Management for Freelancers"

zwilderrr — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 13:58:41 +0000

fyi https://docs.enkitask.com/ is not loading the js bundle. i'm on my corporate laptop behind a vpn, however, so maybe my company doesn't want me being efficient and effective :)

New comment by zwilderrr in "I am rich and have no idea what to do"

zwilderrr — Fri, 03 Jan 2025 00:39:24 +0000

I recommend reading The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**

Ask HN: Would you pass own your company's interview?

zwilderrr — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 03:18:38 +0000

And does it matter either way?

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39476544

Points: 27

# Comments: 25

Show HN: Paying Homage to Binary Large Objects with NFTs

zwilderrr — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 17:12:48 +0000

Article URL: https://www.blobstars.io

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37091125

Points: 1

# Comments: 1