I don’t know what to do on a computer anymore.

A software developer describes losing the creative spark that drove his lifelong computing hobby. AI tools have made problem-solving feel pointless, leaving him staring at his desktop unsure what to do, mourning the loss of a core part of his identity since age twelve.

Teaching:
• When students say they 'can't feel' a pose anymore or practice feels mechanical, acknowledge that mastery can paradoxically create emptiness—the work is finding new questions within familiar territory
• Address the difference between executing a sequence (AI-like repetition) and inhabiting it with genuine inquiry—practice dies when we stop asking 'why this breath here?'
• Use this as a frame for students who've 'solved' primary series: the point isn't completion but sustained curiosity about smaller units (one breath, one bandha engagement)
• Cue the difference between doing your practice and being present for it—automation kills aliveness even in physical disciplines

Writing seeds:
• Essay: 'When Practice Becomes Automatic'—exploring how mastery without curiosity creates the same emptiness as AI-assisted creation, and how Ashtanga's fixed form forces us to find new questions
• Shala Daily post contrasting 'solving' a pose versus living inside it—the AI parallel as cautionary tale for treating practice as problem-solving
• Piece on why Ashtanga's constraints matter more now: when everything is possible (AI, infinite yoga styles), the fixed sequence becomes the container for genuine inquiry
• Short reflection on practice as the opposite of optimization—what happens when we refuse the 'just get the result' shortcut

Idea map:
• Systems literacy lens: AI removes the feedback loop between effort and understanding—same risk in practice when students skip the 'boring' foundational work
• Embodiment as resistance to automation: physical practice can't be shortcut by prompts, making it increasingly valuable as cognitive work gets outsourced
• Attention economy: his desktop paralysis mirrors phone-scrolling—practice as training for 'what to do' when there's no algorithm feeding you stimulus
• Method as meaning-making: his mourning isn't about results but process—Ashtanga's value is the constrained creative space, not the shapes achieved

Source: https://thatalexguy.dev/i-dont-know-what-to-do-on-a-computer-anymore