Top comment on 3Blue1Brown video captures engineers grieving the craft AI is taking away
skdh · x · 2026-10-17
A 2.5K-like comment on 3Blue1Brown's latest video is resonating widely: the argument that "AI does the math, so you can do something else" misses the point. People drawn to math and software saw them as an art form and a craft — the joy of being the only one in your city who could crack a hard proof.
The author offers a leatherworker analogy: a master craftsman told overnight that machines make bags 50x better at 1/10th the price, and he can instead oversee the factory or sell bags. "I never wanted to be a manager, a salesman, or a proofreader. A craft I enjoy has been taken from me — I should be allowed to mourn."
The comment is being shared as a candid picture of how many software engineers actually feel about AI: not a reskilling problem, but a loss of identity and meaning.
Related event: 3Blue1Brown: Why Now Is the Best Time to Go Into Math in the AI Era(4 posts)→
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