<![CDATA[Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me"]]>Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me"

It has been 25-30 years since then, and today I have no idea what the phone numbers of even my closest peers is. Not using that skill just entirely obliterated it from my brain over time. I am not even sure how much effort it would take to get back into it.

This post is about vibe coding.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/topic/4b100be8-c45d-4172-a6b9-eb856982cef8/back-when-i-first-got-a-cellphone-and-slowly-started-forgetting-phone-numbers-i-remember-thinking-ok-that-is-scary-it-really-didn-t-take-long-for-me-to-forget-something-that-used-to-be-second-nature-for-meRSS for NodeSat, 20 Jun 2026 02:11:25 GMTThu, 11 Jun 2026 06:32:25 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Fri, 12 Jun 2026 17:02:44 GMT]]>@tykling
This the hack of using a sharpie to write emergency phone numbers on your body.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://techhub.social/ap/users/116421464963004796/statuses/116738212814816723https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://techhub.social/ap/users/116421464963004796/statuses/116738212814816723Fri, 12 Jun 2026 17:02:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Fri, 12 Jun 2026 15:02:35 GMT]]>@tykling I remember my own and my wife's mobiles. But not my kids'.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://nerdculture.de/users/bonkers/statuses/116737740581212461https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://nerdculture.de/users/bonkers/statuses/116737740581212461Fri, 12 Jun 2026 15:02:35 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:10:45 GMT]]>One of the few numbers I remember actually is my own mobile number - from all the times I had to enter it or write it down somewhere.

@henstridge @beach @tykling

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://chaos.social/users/wonka/statuses/116737536535473882https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://chaos.social/users/wonka/statuses/116737536535473882Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:10:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Fri, 12 Jun 2026 08:01:37 GMT]]>@tykling Born in 2001 here 👋
First phone I got was a smartphone in ~2014.
The only phone numbers I ever remembered are the family home’s nulber and my own.

At some point I freaked out and started noting a bunch of contacts in a physical notepad. I haven’t updated it in a while now 😕

EDIT: did not read the last sentence. yeah.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://piaille.fr/users/unfefe/statuses/116736085005026956https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://piaille.fr/users/unfefe/statuses/116736085005026956Fri, 12 Jun 2026 08:01:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Fri, 12 Jun 2026 07:19:28 GMT]]>@tykling A bit off the topic of AI: Practise your emergency contacts’ phone number. One day, your life may depend on it.

Short story: My wife got a lorry driver whose lorry sat on top of her to call me from his phone. Worst call ever. But I’m grateful for getting to her before she got taken to the hospital. At the time I didn’t know if she’d survive (thankfully, she did). ♥️

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/kr3st3n/statuses/116735919285087149https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/kr3st3n/statuses/116735919285087149Fri, 12 Jun 2026 07:19:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 23:56:35 GMT]]>@tykling I went about 9 months without doing any collaborative software development using Git, and when I returned to it I found myself flailing around hopelessly.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://universeodon.com/users/mathew/statuses/116734177825704937https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://universeodon.com/users/mathew/statuses/116734177825704937Thu, 11 Jun 2026 23:56:35 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 20:16:12 GMT]]>@argv_minus_one @tykling No, 😕 but I have been hunted by a few govt ones (it's not all paranoia)

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/harib_murshidi/statuses/116733311238441561https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/harib_murshidi/statuses/116733311238441561Thu, 11 Jun 2026 20:16:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 18:38:43 GMT]]>@argv_minus_one @tykling I'm not talking about two long multidigit numbers like Ramanujan or anything. Smaller divisions are just reversing times table, slightly longer divisions visualise writing the steps on a piece of paper. Converting to binary first would be a step too far (although thats just division too..) 😂

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://ciberlandia.pt/users/marinheiro/statuses/116732927891755244https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://ciberlandia.pt/users/marinheiro/statuses/116732927891755244Thu, 11 Jun 2026 18:38:43 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 18:27:20 GMT]]>@tykling

You probably also don't know how to make fire with rocks or make rope from tree bark. Or how to saddle a horse.

While you were forgetting phone numbers, you were probably also learning websites, email addresses, and passwords.

Socrates thought that reading would lead to the erosion of memorization.

Did it? Maybe. But things not committed to writing have been lost to the mists of time.

We lose old skills so that we can hone new ones.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/number6/statuses/116732883122232505https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/number6/statuses/116732883122232505Thu, 11 Jun 2026 18:27:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 18:02:39 GMT]]>@patterfloof @tykling That is something I notice, that a quick estimate in your head is often enough, and if it isn't its still enough to check you didn't do anything silly with the calculator...,

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://ciberlandia.pt/users/marinheiro/statuses/116732786062551457https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://ciberlandia.pt/users/marinheiro/statuses/116732786062551457Thu, 11 Jun 2026 18:02:39 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 17:34:09 GMT]]>@marinheiro

People were doing division in their heads? Wow. That's hard.

It's hard for computers too, by the way. Division takes much longer than most other instructions, and when a program says to do division, optimizing compilers will substitute a different operation when possible. A division by 2, for example, can be done faster by just shifting the bits, much like division by 10 in decimal is faster.

@tykling

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/argv_minus_one/statuses/116732674036263293https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/argv_minus_one/statuses/116732674036263293Thu, 11 Jun 2026 17:34:09 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 17:28:40 GMT]]>@harib_murshidi

Are you an actual sleuth now?

@tykling

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/argv_minus_one/statuses/116732652439641600https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/argv_minus_one/statuses/116732652439641600Thu, 11 Jun 2026 17:28:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 17:28:31 GMT]]>@tykling
this post is about the inevitable consequences of not doing the work... convenience culture is toxic at such a low level no one realizes its very profound effects on a body of knowledge few people (even those doing it) give the time of day to: implementing in the real world. Doing real world things--laying brick, building a bookcase, installing a deadbolt, fixing the plumbing-- teaches a body of knowledge largely inaccessible to people who think knowledge is stuff in books

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/ifnotnow/statuses/116732651844331511https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/ifnotnow/statuses/116732651844331511Thu, 11 Jun 2026 17:28:31 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 17:27:47 GMT]]>@tykling

Part of the problem is that modern phones don't even *display* phone numbers any more.

Like, I would remember a phone number just by seeing it regularly, even if I don't have to type it in. But I don't even see it regularly.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/argv_minus_one/statuses/116732648975098647https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/argv_minus_one/statuses/116732648975098647Thu, 11 Jun 2026 17:27:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 17:23:17 GMT]]>@sophie_talks

Refreshing an existing but faded memory or skill is faster than learning a new one, yes.

For example, I recently played a video game I hadn't played in over a decade, which has very unusual and difficult controls. I was rusty at first, but my old skills came rushing back pretty fast. It took me far longer to learn the game as a kid than to recall it as an adult.

Unfortunately it's also very hard on my elbows now. 😅 Adult bodies are so fragile!

@tykling

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/argv_minus_one/statuses/116732631302283909https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/argv_minus_one/statuses/116732631302283909Thu, 11 Jun 2026 17:23:17 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 16:53:45 GMT]]>@tykling I remember my childhood home phone number and my first mobile number in 2003 but I don’t know my wife of 10 years phone number

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://bitbang.social/users/kalleboo/statuses/116732515182139178https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://bitbang.social/users/kalleboo/statuses/116732515182139178Thu, 11 Jun 2026 16:53:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 16:33:42 GMT]]>@tykling I used my partner's number as the unlock code for a tablet my children used for entertainment, so they would memorize it. It worked 🙂 anyway, this is applicable to any skill: create opportunities to use it. Also, people used to recall entire epics with minimal fidelity loss before there was writing, I hear, so they would find our ability to recall a few numbers rather unimpressive.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/toldtheworld/statuses/116732436341201329https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/toldtheworld/statuses/116732436341201329Thu, 11 Jun 2026 16:33:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 14:43:04 GMT]]>@tykling as someone old enough to remember the "corded family phone" with no quick dial features, I'm still able to call everyone I need to, and store details of (nearly infinite) contacts I might want/need to reconnect with some day. It's just easier 99.9% of the time. This is post is also about vibe coding.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/kneoghau/statuses/116732001274192334https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/kneoghau/statuses/116732001274192334Thu, 11 Jun 2026 14:43:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 14:25:58 GMT]]>@tykling

[ circa 1,000 BC ]
back when I got a stylus and papyrus, I slowly started forgetting how to memorize things

etc etc x1,000

There is a British philosopher, G Moore, iirc, who said something like

Progess is letting us forget things

and that is one of those simple statements that is truly profound

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mas.to/users/failedLyndonLaRouchite/statuses/116731934056421588https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mas.to/users/failedLyndonLaRouchite/statuses/116731934056421588Thu, 11 Jun 2026 14:25:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:56:31 GMT]]>@tykling When I was a kid, I had everyone’s phone numbers memorized…. Now, I’m not so old that it was only 4 digits or something like that…. But there were only 5 exchanges (579 728 571 723 404) so it was kinda like only having to remember four digits.

F**k…. I AM old.

Also, I write my own code & regex. 🙂

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.ca/users/JustinDerrick/statuses/116731818257415660https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mstdn.ca/users/JustinDerrick/statuses/116731818257415660Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:56:31 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:42:02 GMT]]>@tykling my coworkers think i'm crazy for not having any contacts in my phone. everyone is just numbers.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/wademcgillis/statuses/116731761268727735https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/wademcgillis/statuses/116731761268727735Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:42:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:41:19 GMT]]>@chrisp @tykling

That's the plan !

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://lavraievie.social/users/Aedius/statuses/116731758482188908https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://lavraievie.social/users/Aedius/statuses/116731758482188908Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:41:19 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:36:44 GMT]]>@Aedius @tykling "Oh no, the AI wrote slop! I guess you'll have to pay me 1.5x my regular salary to fix it or I'll go find another job"

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://cyberplace.social/users/chrisp/statuses/116731740481180068https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://cyberplace.social/users/chrisp/statuses/116731740481180068Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:36:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Back when I first got a cellphone and slowly started forgetting phone numbers I remember thinking "OK that is scary, it really didn't take long for me to forget something that used to be second nature for me" on Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:10:45 GMT]]>@tykling
I, for one, predict that the price of human skill erosion will actually exceed the cost of Ai implementation.
Prove me wrong.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://beige.party/users/Guillotine_Jones/statuses/116731638279714324https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://beige.party/users/Guillotine_Jones/statuses/116731638279714324Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:10:45 GMT