and so lots and lots of things which COULD be done are simply replaced by things that mask over the problem
few people write their own software these days, you just buy a million apps until you find one that suffices
few people make their own websites these days, ...
... you just pay SquareSpace-like companies to get something good enough
few people use skills and tools to augment their programming to get more efficiency, reduce boiler plate, etc. they just ask an LLM to do it
as the support for doing the learning, skill development, and so forth has vanished, people have come more and more to accept tools that completely paper over their lack of skills, and the lack of support
tools which "solve the problem" in a way that make their users worse off
to some degree this is a uniquely software-driven problem, because software is SO powerful and SO capable, that it's capable of supplementing what used to be whole personal skillsets while ALSO being capable of preventing you from leaving the software behind
i mean like, take a completely out of left field example: drafting/CAD
now, CAD is an absolute boon, don't get me wrong!
but no drafter 100 years ago was trained to only use Esterbrook dip pens and stuck using them for all their projects once they used it once
you draw a line on a document using an Esterbrook pen and anyone can read it, and if you need to modify the document later, you can use shitty Bic ballpoint for all anyone cares!
now try doing that with a design made in Fusion 360
or even Freecad
sure you MIGHT technically IN THEORY be able to export files that other programs MIGHT in THEORY be able to make use of
but in practice, you're stuck in that one program unless you want to completely re-implement the design
the most open source un-corporate un-malicious-intent CAD programs out there, like FreeCAD, are VERY convenient but also in a way completely incapable of replicating the end-user-power of pen and paper
and while you might use FreeCAD and then manage to export to some other program successful, you now have to learn that other program
whereas, when you pick up a shitty Bic pen to do your drafting, constructing tangent circles is the same geometry Euclid was using 2500 years ago
software has this tendency to ensnare people with conveniences, even if we don't intend it to, even if we make it very user friendly and end user programmable and provide abundant learning resources
you're still learning _this_ program, or _this_ programming language
which means that it's even MORE important for software folx to emphasize training/skill development, end-user programmability, ease of use, and openness. because those are the only things that currently can reduce the likelihood of people getting trapped
