Sixty years of syntax.
One human intent.
But we had it
backwards.
The old way
The new way
Sixty years training humans to think like machines.
That era is ending.
Information is collapsing inward
"The source code is no longer syntax.
The source code is the idea itself."
38 Languages, One Intent
Click any language to see the same token bucket algorithm expressed in its unique syntax
1950s-1970s
The Pioneers7 languages1980s
The Expansion4 languages1990s
The Web Era10 languages2000s
The Enterprise7 languages2010s
The Modern Age10 languagesThis is hard to accept.
If you spent years mastering syntax...
That knowledge was expensive.
It became part of your identity.
"It sounds like vibe coding."
(Okay, maybe it is vibe coding. But vibes were always the point.)
Syntax mastery was never the point—it was the tax we paid to reach the point.
What Matters Now
What mattered before
- Syntax
- APIs
- Semicolons
- Type signatures
- Build configs
What matters now
- How systems fail and why
- What makes software maintainable
- What users actually need vs. what they ask for
- First principles thinking
- Domain expertise
AI handles the middle.
Humans handle the edges—the what and the why.
Why Software Gets Better
The people closest to the problem can now build the solution.
Healthcare expert
Healthcare software
Musician
Audio tools
Teacher
Educational software
(The gatekeepers can relax now. Or learn healthcare. Either way.)