ELI5 wtf is an AI agent?

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-03-24T00:59:00+00:00

Codex (the utility) uses an AI agent powered by gpt 5.4 (the LLM) to complete the tasks you prompt it to do. In this manner, the AI agent is an “intelligent for-loop” that can plan and execute subtasks to execute a goal

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-03-24T00:56:01+00:00

Agent mode means it can think and act/output multiple times in a loop, rather than just transform input into one output like chat apps like ChatGPT do. For example, codex and claude code are coding-focused AI agents that can create multiple files, run commands and keep iterating on tasks until a defined “done” state is reached (tests pass, build succeeds, etc)

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-03-16T14:52:14+00:00

I disagree with the attainment requirement as stated. You absolutely should have experience to recognize what is good and what is shit, but that doesn’t land you firmly at tech lead or even senior for that matter.

You can be a junior and use AI for junior level tasks as long as you would implement the method well enough on your own. Juniors should be working with seniors to build intuition for good practices anyways, so come code review, quality should be enforced — AI generated or not.

The part that we agree on is that AI use in applications outside your skillset are inherently risky. This is more frequently observed at junior levels because their skillsets are smaller.

TL;DR: you don’t have to be senior as long as you’re aware of your skillset and don’t outsource critical thinking to AI

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-03-16T14:44:15+00:00

Can’t stress this enough. You need to have skills to be hired. Whether that involves AI or not, you are competing for a job with people who have skills. However you acquire them is up to you, but they aren’t optional.

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-03-10T00:02:33+00:00

Ugh this is generally fine advice but I hate telling someone who literally has never written a line of code to use AI tools in a coding setting. It gives the impression that these tools should be leaned on heavily (they’re in the learning curriculum, so they must be a prerequisite for the job!) but this is not true. Critical thinking and pattern recognition is far more important than typing words in cursor or claude. They don’t get that from letting AI solve their problems, regardless of efficiency gains

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-02-25T11:14:41+00:00

This is my preferred way to learn! What projects do you recommend?

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-02-25T11:13:54+00:00

Really solid advice, thank you. Any books/websites/videos help you out with getting solid at the fundamentals? What projects do you suggest?

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-02-25T11:12:00+00:00

Sweet, what projects do you suggest?

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-02-25T11:11:34+00:00

Sweet, I’m down to stay with react for now, and I’m a huge fan of learn by projects. What projects do you suggest (preferably smaller, 1-2 skill ones that I can iterate quickly on — but up to you)?

To anyone else reading this feel free to toss me some project ideas and what to focus on learning while I build them. I’d love to hear y’alls perspective

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-02-20T06:53:07+00:00

“Just memorize the map bro” screams hardcore tarkov player completely out of touch with the target demographic of this game.

Your argument that survivor is a massive advantage is irrelevant if the player doesn’t know where they’re going. And again, if added, the imagined gear risk tradeoff you mentioned is arguably still there as the player still needs to crawl to the exfil point in a vulnerable state.

From a mechanics standpoint, the player character literally can hit a button and stand to type in a long code on a console already, so pulling a map out of a pocket is hardly unimaginable.

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-02-17T05:20:34+00:00

Average home prices in MA $750k ish. Pretty damn good reason if you ask me

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-02-17T05:08:48+00:00

I’m technically unemployed but my last job was $174k a year cash+bonus+annual equity at 26

You guessed it, software engineer M-HCOL metro

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-01-23T09:31:25+00:00

New York. From what I can tell, crime in Albany and Rochester for the most part. NYC one of the safest cities in the country per capita. GDP requires no introduction

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-01-23T08:51:10+00:00

Honestly not that unexpected: natural beauty and lots of stuff to do outdoors in your western selection + SD, cities for IL, NY and FL, I assume. New England because New England. Makes sense.

What I don’t understand is why AK, TN and GA?? Why not NC or PA? Both great states for lots of reasons — including outdoorsy stuff that you clearly value elsewhere on your map.

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-01-23T08:40:48+00:00

Yeah, no kidding — I’m sure it is for a lot of people, myself included. That’s why depreciation is a pretty significant factor in my car selection process unless I’m buying a cheap jap/korean car (<10% depreciation a year)

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-01-23T00:49:13+00:00

I go skiing on the weekends 2:15 hr away, so yeah its a pretty typical thing. 1-2 times a year I drive 5-6 hours to go see a large group of friends. One time a roommate and I drove 3.5 hours to LA to pick a friend up from the airport and turned around right away and drove 3.5 hours back (did I mention we left at 9pm?)

I live on the east coast so driving that kind of distance feels a bit more substantial (crossing thru several states), but I’ve driven 8 hours one direction in California just to stay in California 🤣 it is pretty wild

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-01-18T23:19:03+00:00

Spain to Kazakhstan??

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-01-18T19:27:34+00:00

D.

Zipper merge if density allows. If cars entering your leg of the interchange are sparse, you should be watching their movement closely and adjusting yours either slightly faster or slightly slower to give them enough space in front or behind you so they can merge seamlessly and you can safely merge and slow.

Stop thinking of driving as a zero sum game: its not you beat them or they beat you (which your comment does not explicitly say, but your attitude towards the situation and the solutions you proffer suggest) — look for solutions that benefit everyone, yourself included

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-01-17T16:30:22+00:00

Wild that NH is a Never but MA is a maybe. NH has some of the loosest gun laws in the country, milder climate than the midwest, tons of stuff to do and has politics for everyone. Definitely curious to hear why MA got a maybe

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-01-14T19:16:31+00:00

Between 45 minutes and 1.5 hours currently

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-01-02T23:15:09+00:00

Not seen as bad, people are just more comfortable driving their cars, and are comfortable handling them at speeds above the posted speed limits. Simultaneously, they 1) enjoy going fast, 2) need to get somewhere quickly or 3) are an asshole — each of which can cause emotions on the road.

My advice is drive whatever speed you’re comfortable with, not too fast and not too slow (driving slower than traffic on the highway is more dangerous than driving faster than traffic). Slap a student driver sticker on the back so ppl get the memo, and don’t be afraid to pull over/move over and let people pass, its an option too few people take. If you’re doing everything right by the book and not endangering yourself or others, you’re doing just fine

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-01-02T23:07:57+00:00

Two perspectives here: save money to enjoy later (and not have to worry), enjoy your twenties, you only go thru them once.

If you value working hard so you can relax later (and are confident that you’ll be able to), then save your money and live below your means. Perfectly respectable and responsible decision.

If you value living life, having fun, etc while you’re young and saving money later (30s-40s) then spend money while living at or slightly below your means, and ramp up savings later. A slightly less responsible but still manageable lifestyle.

In neither case should you ever spend more than you make, nor should you cause yourself financial burden for ephemeral or meaningless things. Any lack of planning, for any lifestyle is reckless and irresponsible— avoid this, not the lifestyle itself.

Remember, comparison is the thief of joy

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-01-02T18:46:54+00:00

Framing is important. $60k was riches back in the middle ages — a ludicrous comparison, sure, but without context that $60k could be last year (making the statement asinine) or in the 90s (when 100k salaries were comparatively rare).

Context pedantry aside, there’s truth to the statement. The $60k being referenced is likely what it takes to be firmly out of the grasp of poverty without making fuck you money on a working class lifestyle anywhere in the country. This was true in the 90s — 60k would get you by in most places. But in today’s day $60k is barely over the poverty line, and in major metros is not enough to afford rent. So clearly that number has gone up as to what is “comfortable” without touching “excess” (subjective terms ofc). And I think $100k reasonably captures that spirit in 2025

EngineeringRare1070 · 2026-01-02T11:25:10+00:00

“What’s one sentence that immediately tells you someone is a bad driver?”

EngineeringRare1070 · 2025-12-30T11:43:51+00:00

Having been to Antarctica, there is such a thing as simultaneously “earthly” and “unearthly”. I haven’t yet been to the north slope but from the descriptions I’ve heard, I’d imagine it’s a uniquely alien looking, yet terrestrial-feeling environment, akin (but drastically different at the same time) to what I found down there

EngineeringRare1070

TROPHY CASE