That feeling you get when you write code so complicated, that a few weeks later, even with tutorial-level documentation, you don't know whats going on, so you just rewrite from scratch.

Yeah that just happened to me.

No time for deep work to re-grok what the fuck I was working toward, so I just rewrote the core of it to relearn the entire process.

Had comments, documentation, step-by-steps. Still the ability to understand and reason about it noped-the-fuck-out of the building apparently.

Might have had something to do with zero sleep three days in a row and too much red bull.

Sleep-deprived me operates on a whole different plane of existence.

I thought you were a Math addict... What is this shit Red Bull you been drinking? ;-)

I got to this level once (actually a few times) and I was so confused

I don't know if I want to work in that area of... thought-space. like how do you even navigate. I'm just unloading my subconsciousness and then I guess it changed like some kind of quantum leap? like what the fuck is that. it's like you meditate and you entered some other plane of existence where you lose your mind once you find it because you can't stably materialize it for whatever fucking reason

how did it work. what the hell is this

just what the hell

I wrote the same software x4-x5 times. i took notes every time. every time I had to rewrite it. the kicker? after version 2-3 it was worse. how does that make any sense? what the fuck?

HOW CAN YOU DO SOMETHING AND NOT KNOW WHAT YOU DID?!

Source:

https://monkeyuser.com/2018/...

I'm so good in remembering code, i even remember ~ line numbers of certain code. BUT - it's also possible to create something twice :P Completely the opposite.

Btw, three nights? Those are rookie numbers young man.

A good chunk of my dev career was updating legacy shit + recompiling decompiled code 🦹(I cracked my universities apps to get the PDFs/EPUBs)

I don't think I've ever not been able to figure out what I've written before, but I have called myself an imbecile before.

The best advice I can give, is figure out your mind state and how you imagined data would flow in that scenario. It could also be an aspect of code style, I can still easily understand my hand written firebase ORM...

Wait you said 3 days, I'm pretty sure that fucks with your memories

@Demolishun Sleep-deprivation (if you can push past the desire to sleep sapping you of all will) mimics the effect of being drunk.

The redbull gets me there.

I just had a binge eight our session of math though thanks. Working on closed form logarithmic solutions to RSA, or at least approximations thereof.

@jestdotty whats worse is when you're better in the sleep-deprived mode.

As long as you also have time to mentally decompile the previous work.

It's like zen or some shit.

@retoor remembering the line number of individual code? Thats either a super power and/or a touch of the tism.

Should I be jealous?

@D-4got10-01 accurate. But change the second panel to a guy falling asleep in his chair, out cold,

and the third panel should be him coming to in an unfamiliar place, apparently having been fully engaged in some activity or other.

Come to think of it I should probably get tested for narcolepsy.

@BordedDev This is exactly what I do, try to recreate the dataflow.

On the plus side the rewrites are usually simple than the previous ones.

A lot of reinventing the wheel on your end too?

And then only to discover some wrote a standard library for that?

People who manually decompile and can grok decompiled code are a breed all their own.

Tried, never could comprehend how they could understand any of it.

Assembly and code assembled to executable, sure, but auto-generated higher level code that comes from a decompiler, without comments or documentation? It's a rare skill to be able to read that.

Come to think of it, maths kinda like that.

@Wisecrack I enjoy doing rewrites/simplification, how else do you get better wheels. I do try to minimize my own code, after all, there is less chance of bugs that way.

If you want an easier time, try reading decompiled java it's a bit easier to grok. Looking for patterns and knowing what certain combinations do makes things a lot easier. (I also enjoy the Zachtronics games)

I got onto the decompiled code for hacking old MMOs since sometimes they would encrypt even the localisation/server config so I can switch it to a private server.

I'd say be careful with the long nights, since the caffeine is just binding with your adenosine receptors, and the sugar and vitamines give you an energy boost (so your body is still as tired as before). Then again I tend to work best with about 1 beer in me