Ask HN: Pre-AI, did you think harder? Or are you thinking more (and better) now?

I thought harder, but it was about more trivial things, like how to get this stupid library written by someone else to do what the business requirements say I have to make it do.

Something that doesn't really benefit me in the long term, unless I want to specialize in working with that library.

Like for example, I spent so much time over five years fighting and figuring out a bunch of the quirks of AG-Grid while working for a wealth management client, and now I'm on a project for a different client (and a different industry) that doesn't use it at all, so all that knowledge is mostly useless.

Differently. I guess I didn't think harder, better or less before, but I remember before AI having to struggle with things I had to think about, which certainly has some virtue to learn. Now it's almost a itch, as soon as I struggle, I prompt. For sure, there must be an effect on cognition. I still enjoy thinking a lot, but I delegate the boring details to AI, so it has displaced the way I think to higher levels of abstraction, but I’m not sure if what I call "boring details" are not "struggles that I should have kept" to improve my understanding.

I would say that I think more "graphically" now. I would not necessarily say I think harder, but rather with less total cognitive load by thinking ahead.

What do I mean?

When I think about problems now, I still use first principles thinking. Then, I begin with a spatial map of ideas and concepts. How are these things related? Are there any patterns or gaps?

Before AI agents, I didn't have to think in terms of steps.

With AI agents, I can have them tackle each part of the graph simultaneously to arrive at a deliverable. Faster, and with more predictability.

Pre-AI, I definitely had more deep work and focus. I must say I miss it. Now much more ground is covered but also I don't go under the surface as much.