I have "Code Brain"

Paul Krugman outlined the economics of "Car Brain" in his recent article about the congestion economics of cars, commuters, and the city of New Year. That concept resonated in a huge way!

Author

Stephan Smith
January 15, 2025

"Code Brain" - Last week I read Paul Krugman's article about congestion economics around cars in NYC. He uses the term "Car Brain". It triggered me. (...in a good way) The article used the term to highlight the sense of control that driving into NYC gives some commuters, even with the macro impacts of more cars on the roads in the city.

I have seen this same idea in my work. But I call it "Code Brain" and it’s applied to software. It is a perfect concept to describe a pattern of behavior I see in myself and countless tech teams. I took that little gem of a concept, converted it, and the noodled on it for a week.

I have a love/hate relationship with code.

I fight this urge to solve all challenges with code. I fight it so much that I have spent the last 2 years researching and categorizing "low-code" solutions of patterns.

This month I am helping a startup founder stand up an AI+Low Code Stack to get to early revenue. Additionally, I have also been talking with a founder on the West Coast who builds entire apps and automation without a single line of code. Jamie Christensen can do amazing things with a suite of tools that most coders will write off or ignore.

I realized this week that my "code brain" is very expensive. It takes longer to get a problem solved than if I am forced to find and fit together low-code options.

The more I try to force myself out of this mode, this default thinking pattern, the more I bound back. It feels like a form of addiction. It's just too easy. My rational side knows there is a new and better way, but damn, it's just so ingrained. I find myself saying '...next time' or '...this is the one problem that needs code...'.

Breaking this habit might require going cold turkey (soon), and include a ton of false starts and backsliding.

Three things I have learned:

  1. Founders are building code-free revenue engines, as we speak!

  2. The skills to build no-code stacks might be impossible for traditional devs.

  3. The default to "Code Brain" solutions costs businesses revenue.

The rise of the "Low Code Stack" might be the ultimate productivity of Ai.