Hallelujah!!
When I write code, it’s as much a cognitive tool as it is a tool to make things happen in the system. It develops thoughts as much as it develops system behavior.
Involving AI changes this quite a bit, but I feel like I’m making my way to a balance where it supports rather than replaces (or worse: disrupts) my cognitive processes.
Programming is writing for me. So, yes I am the same... I need to type (or sometimes write it longhand), to make progress.
I gave LLMs a fair shake, but generative mode usage overwhelms my nervous system. I could use 'em, maybe, for pattern-recognition. But using an expressive language (Clojure) means I can eyeball my source code and/or grep through it to maintain a good enough view of my system. This also applies to most third-party code I use from the Clojure ecosystem. Libraries tend to be small (a few thousand lines of code), and I can skim-read through them quick enough.
I know there is a black art to it that one is supposed to learn, in order to get useful results, but so far, the incentive isn't strong enough for me.
So, hand typing / writing it is... might as well feel satisfied using my nice keyboard and little notebook, on my way to obsolescence. No?
FWIW I think you’re thinking of “memento”
an object or item that serves to remind one of a person, past event, etc.; keepsake; souvenir.
TIL, thank you :)