Going to an Algothon.

Just the other day I wrapped up my first ever Algothon. I would like to open with a homage to my blessings that allowed me to go there in the first place. We were there ostensibly at least; to present the work that we had done in the competition up until that point. Suffice it to say that we got ‘gapped’ by the rest of the competition. Having no real understanding of the technical depth that we would be required to go into. Our presentation was tailored to explaining things to the common man. However, it soon became obvious that the quality of knowledge that almost every competitor had on the topic was far beyond anything we were even close to aware of.

We placed 8th.

Not a bad look if you consider it was within the entirety of the Australia/New Zealand region. But, not something I was happy with either.

Something was quite obvious to me from the jump as I awkwardly attempted to mingle with the other people that were there with us. They loved this game. Sitting down and working out the intricate math that you would need to produce a trading algorithm was something that called to them on a deeper level than it ever would to me.

You can very rarely beat someone who is having fun. And this holds true even here. I was quickly shown that I do not share the love for working through abstract trading games and problems the same way that my peers do themselves. Nor can I find myself caring much about the prestige that comes with working at all of these hyper-competitive trading firms. (Although the paychecks are quite tempting)

Still, seeing this passion has inspired me to look for similar people in the spaces that I would like to work in/with. A free night in Sydney was also a huge plus. Something that I dearly enjoyed with my friends.

What’s Happened to the Game That I Love?

Whilst talking to one of the employees that worked there. He said something that continues to haunt me. Even now, 4 days since.

Yeah I don’t even open VS Code anymore.

To think the thing that I got into, and enjoy doing so much for the smaller physical sensation of doing it as well as the intellectual stimulation that you get from it. To think that all that has evaporated at the highest levels (as far as I’m aware) of the craft?

Not a thought that I enjoy sitting with. It makes me wonder whether this is something that I would ever want to be a part of. Sitting down with a problem and working out its solution with my own two hands has been one of the most enjoyable things I’ve ever done. Now I’ve learned that they abstract all of this away such that you are left to manage a bunch of soulless constructs who do your exact bidding. And then somehow purport their success to your own? I couldn’t imagine there to be any sense of accomplishment in that.

Do I Love This Game?

This wasn’t the future that had made me sign up for software engineering. I remember getting into this watching CS50 lectures at night and feeling a real sense of accomplishment whenever I completed a problem set or understood a concept.

I didn’t subscribe to be a cuck to my own work. To sit there whilst something else does my job. To this point I’ve honestly shunned most AI help at all in all my coding. Even at my previous full time job I made a point not to use any sort of Agentic Engineering. Very luckily I was never forced to adopt their use. Nor was I judged for not using it. But if this is the future that I’m heading towards. I can’t tell if I can love the game anymore.