There are so many buzzwords and best practices out there, but let's focus on something more fundamental. What matters is the amount of confusion developers feel when going through the code.
Some concerns from a researcher in this space · Issue #22 · zakirullin/cognitive-load
Hi, I do research about the cognitive factors of programming. I just completed my Ph.D. at Stanford involving studies of cognitive load in program comprehension, as detailed here: https://arxiv.org...
Cognitive Load | Laws of UX
The amount of mental resources needed to understand and interact with an interface.
Cognitive Load Theory and its Applications for Learning - Scott H Young
What makes learning hard? How can we make it easier? Cognitive load theory explains how we learn and how to do it better.
Reducing the cognitive load of AI changes
When reviewing large amounts of AI-generated code, I often find that the LLM chooses terms for abstractions that do not always map to my own choices. For instance, what it may call a MutationIntent might personally be more natural to me as an EditRequest. Because the LLM's choice of words is not my ideal choice, I have to do a mental lookup of what it means every time I see it, which adds cognitive load.
Cognitive Bias Lab | Learn to Make Better Decisions
Explore cognitive biases with interactive tests, simulations, and real-world examples. Free platform to sharpen decision-making and critical thinking — no sign-up needed.
If coding is solved, what now?: Measuring the sloppiness of code | EARENDIL
Exploring how to measure code sloppiness, why correct code can still erode a codebase, and why human intuition and taste still matter.
Developers spend most of their time figuring the system out
I am often asked what I mean when I say that developers spend most of their time figuring the system out. Let’s unpack the statement.
Cognitive Offloading
If you have ever tilted your head to perceive a rotated image, or programmed a smartphone to remind you of an upcoming appointment, you have engaged in cognitive offloading: the use of physical action to alter the information processing requirements of a task so as to reduce cognitive demand. Despite the ubiquity of this type of behavior, it has only recently become the target of systematic investigation in and of itself. We review research from several domains that focuses on two main questions: (i) what mechanisms trigger cognitive offloading, and (ii) what are the cognitive consequences of this behavior? We offer a novel metacognitive framework that integrates results from diverse domains and suggests avenues for future research.
To the brain, reading computer code is not the same as reading language
MIT neuroscientists have found reading computer code does not rely on the regions of the brain involved in language processing. Instead, it activates the “multiple demand network,” which is also recruited for complex cognitive tasks such as solving math problems or crossword puzzles.
Understanding is the new bottleneck
Agents can write code faster than we can absorb it. Here's why it still matters for humans to understand what they build — and some techniques for doing that efficiently: explainer docs, quizzes, micro-worlds, and shared spaces.
Understanding is the new bottleneck
Agents can write code faster than we can absorb it. Here's why it still matters for humans to understand what they build — and some techniques for doing that efficiently: explainer docs, quizzes, micro-worlds, and shared spaces.
Understanding is the new bottleneck
Agents can write code faster than we can absorb it. Here's why it still matters for humans to understand what they build — and some techniques for doing that efficiently: explainer docs, quizzes, micro-worlds, and shared spaces.
Generative artificial intelligence reliance and executive function attenuation: Behavioral evidence of cognitive offload in high-use adults.
Devin Review: AI to Stop Slop | Cognition
As code generation gets easier, code review is the new bottleneck. That's why we're launching a new way to quickly review and understand complex PRs in our latest tool for codebase understanding - augmenting human attention with AI.
What AI coding costs you | Tom Wojcik
What's the effect of the prolonged AI usage among coders and is it tracked correctly, if it all?
