The Friction Is A Feature, Not A Bug: Teaching and Mentoring in the Age of AI

Short summary

The author, a former teacher turned engineer, argues that cognitive friction — being stuck, debugging, and wrestling with concepts — is essential for deep learning, and that AI coding assistants systematically remove it. LLMs act as yes-men that dispense copy-paste fixes instead of using the Socratic method, depriving learners of the struggle that builds mental resilience. The post calls for intentional conversations about how to mentor the next generation of engineers in an AI-saturated landscape.

• •Cognitive friction (struggle, debugging) is essential for deep skill acquisition in engineering
• •AI coding assistants act as yes-men, removing friction and undermining the learning process
• •Mentors must intentionally preserve struggle and use Socratic methods even when AI can provide instant answers

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.