In his 2023 book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Rick Rubin articulated his philosophy that creativity is a way of being—a lifelong practice of curiosity, openness, and engagement with the world. Writing in the the New York Times reviewer Tim Kreider described the book as “more Lao Tzu than self-help,” noting that it reads like contemporary Taoist wisdom for creative living.

Now, the Grammy Award winning producer who has made hit records with some of the worlds most popular and influential musicians, the co-founder of Def Jam records, and the co-host of the Broken Record podcast, has released a new project that makes that comparison prophetic.

The Way of Code is an AI-enhanced reimagining of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. In it he likens vibe coding—in which anyone can describe what they want in natural language, and the AI generates the code—to the punk rock movement in music, which made raw, authentic music accessible with just a few chords and a message.

Working with the AI company Anthropic he has created a digital experience that recasts the domain of coding and creativity with Taoist themes about the nature of existence, balance between opposites, and harmony with the universe.

It's lovely. But each of these 81 meditations is dense. I find scrolling to individual pages tiresome. Maybe add a randomizer? Or here's a radical idea: this would make a great book.

"A good traveler has no fixed itinerary but knows when he’s arrived. A good artist follows his intuition wherever it may lead him. A good scientist lets go of concepts and keeps an open mind on what is.

"Thus, The Vibe Coder avails himself to all, accepting each one’s own way as best for them. This is called following the inner light. What is a good programmer, but a bad programmer’s inspiration. What is a bad programmer, but a good programmer’s charge. If you miss this you’ll get lost however intelligent you are. For it is the great secret."

"Throw away learning and petty distinctions and people will be a hundred times happier. Throw away formal proprieties of etiquette and intuitive sympathies will return. Throw away self-aggrandizement and virtue signaling and there will be no thievery or corruption."

WEBSITE: The Way of Code

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