Coding is Sacred

2025-12-22 · Source: Chris Shayan – Medium · Field: Technology & Digital — Software Development & Engineering, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning · Depth: Intermediate, short

Summary

Julie Ovgaard's December 22, 2025, article "Coding is Sacred" posits coding as a spiritual practice rather than a mere mechanical task. Ovgaard, a Head of AI, describes the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) as a "temple" for "holy curiosity," comparing the act of coding to a ritual. She emphasizes the concept of "Relentlessly Elevating Experience" through continuous improvement, likening the compiler to a "wild, truth-speaking" friend that provides radical authenticity through error messages. The article also acknowledges the "demons" of coding, such as legacy code and unmet requirements, and frames the pursuit of mastery in the face of these challenges as a samurai's dedication. Ultimately, Ovgaard connects coding to a broader life purpose of fostering growth and meaningful connection, aiming to improve the world through technology.

Key takeaway

For AI Engineers and Software Developers seeking deeper meaning in their work, recognize coding as a spiritual practice that demands continuous improvement and radical authenticity. Your IDE is a "dojo" for Kaizen, and compiler errors are direct feedback for growth. Embrace this perspective to foster integrity and impact in your projects, ensuring you run unit tests as a fundamental act of diligence.

Key insights

Coding is presented as a sacred, spiritual practice for continuous improvement and authentic self-reflection.

Principles

• Embrace continuous improvement (Kaizen) in coding.
• View compiler errors as authentic feedback for growth.
• Approach coding with integrity and impact.

In practice

• Use IDEs as a space for focused, iterative development.
• Refactor code not just for customers, but for code quality.
• Run unit tests before pushing to main.

Topics

• Coding Philosophy
• Software Development
• Language Model Fine-tuning
• AI Applications
• Developer Experience

Best for: Software Engineer, AI Engineer, Research Scientist

Related on AIssential

• Spec-Driven Development: Think First, Code Later — Prioritizing detailed specification before coding enhances software architecture and long-term maintainability, amplified by AI.
• Podcast: [Video Podcast] The Craft of Software Architecture in the Age of AI Tools — AI tools accelerate software development by raising abstraction, but human judgment and accountability remain critical for architectural integrity.
• Vibe Coding: The Difference Between Building Blindly and Building With Knowledge — "Vibe coding" offers speed but risks shipping unreadable, insecure code; informed builders must understand AI-generated output, especially for critical systems.
• Coding is solved? Software is not. — AI shifts coding from generation to verification, making system-level correctness the new bottleneck.
• AI Didn't Kill Developers. It Made Fake Development Cheap. — AI lowers development barriers, but superficial demos often mask critical engineering flaws and security risks.
• The Dangerous Illusion of AI Coding? - Jeremy Howard — AI coding offers an illusion of control, hindering genuine understanding and knowledge growth in software engineering.

Open in AIssential →

Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Chris Shayan – Medium.