Learn Slow So You Can Move Fast

I learned to code the old-school way: I bought a Python textbook and went through examples and exercises, page by page, writing all the code from scratch.

Today, we have AI agents writing code for us. I often use Cursor and LLMs to rapidly generate snippets or whole sections of code. Sometimes this boosts my productivity, but other times it doesn’t. Why?

AI-generated code provides immediate gratification, but outcomes can be superficial unless your approach is mindful. Without a foundation in good software practices, these tools can easily lead you astray — solving an immediate problem, but not necessarily the right one.

For example, if I ask an AI coding agent to build a web scraper without specifying whether to use Requests, Selenium, or BeautifulSoup, it might go down a path that’s far from what I need. It’s like asking an architect, in one “prompt”, to build a nice house without saying if it should be brick, wood, or concrete or whether it needs to survive snow or earthquakes.

In coding, it helps to know the fundamentals, even if lightly so. That means things like modular design, version control with Git, and clear documentation. This is no different from any other craft. You master the fundamentals before you can try to move fast.

Without clear guidance rooted in best practices, generative AI tools have too many degrees of freedom. They often produce results that miss the mark, ultimately wasting your time. And this isn’t limited to code. It applies just as much to AI-generated images, sounds, or regular text.

In the future, AI will undoubtedly get better at inferring what you want. It might achieve that predictively or with the help of clarifying questions before it completes a task. But for now, slowly mastering the fundamentals is the surest way to move faster in the long run. Flashy one-shot prompts to “vibe code” fast prototypes looks impressive in demos. However, when these projects grow without clear planning, they become unwieldy and inefficient.

And by the way, learning slow to move fast isn’t just for beginners or low-pressure situations. The Navy SEALs put it this way: "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast." Athletes, artists, and engineers follow the same principle. They train carefully, outline patiently, and build deliberately. In other words: fundamentals first, tools second. That is what truly amplifies your ability. It might feel slow initially, but it’s the fastest path to meaningful, lasting productivity.