David Brown | Problem Solver

25,000+ hrs building 6 products from 0→1. Problem solver

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

Literally everyone who works with software engineers should read Deep Work by Cal Newport. Everyone wins when everyone understands how we work best

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

I've pretty much gone all in on AI native software building. Some key thoughts:
- The end product is usually better if you have good steering docs.
- Review time is time consuming
- It might only be marginally faster to develop
- It's a net positive but not a silver bullet

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

Kind of amazing. Kind of terrifying. Mostly amazing
https://t.co/n0hScGl5VZ

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

Is it me or is ChatGPT dialed up the sycophancy recently #ChatGPT

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

Super rough first pass at my Google Drive/Photos hybrid app tied to user's S3/R2 bucket.
✅ Auth/DB via Supabase
✅ Connect to real bucket
✅ CRUD on files + folders + drag and drop to upload
✅ Gallery view like Photos
✅ Mobile swiping support
🚧 Name it!

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

Photographers would be an ideal client

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

Started building a small app to browse an S3 or Cloudflare R2 bucket like a hybrid of Google Drive and Google Photos but minimalistic.
Good for personal stuff or dev work exploring uploads, and everything stays in your own bucket. Building for fun because I want it to exist

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

And I need a name for it

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

Working on a feature that will boost company revenue by $100k/mo and will increase over time. No marginal cost of replication. Depending on EBITDA multiple could easily boost company value by $12m. Nbd.

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

Sound money is on sale! Now you can buy more real money for less fake money than you could 7 days ago
#Bitcoin #GOLD #silver #SoundMoney

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

Observation:
Education is now...
Teacher used AI to generate assignments
Student uses AI to execute assignment
Teacher uses AI to grade assignment

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

At some point 90% of code will be written by AI. Then us engineers have the hard part of writing the other 90%

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

Number 1 mistake I see in software code: massively overcomplicating the task.

Ruthlessly simplify.

Simple code is readable code and readable code is maintainable code.

You will be happier and more productive.
#SoftwareDevelopment

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

@Pranjal13365048 We don't really measure it in years. We care more about attitude, aptitude, and ability

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

...we're hiring 4 engineers
#SoftwareEngineering

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

Come work with me!
https://t.co/KaX0on06RT

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

Come work with me!
https://t.co/KaX0on06RT

[Mark Manson @Markmanson]

Everyone is using AI to think less.

But the highest-leverage AI prompts do the exact opposite. They make you think more.

The most common AI prompts make us comfortable:

• “Summarize this article.”
• “Write this email for me.”
• “Tell my girlfriend it’s over.”

But, the best prompts force you into discomfort.

Here's what I mean.

This prompt went viral last year:

"Based on everything you know about me, what are my biggest blindspots?"

Decent.

But watch what happens when you engineer psychological pressure into the structure:

ROLE You are an expert psychologist with a keen eye for spotting human patterns.

OBJECTIVE Based on everything you know about me, what are my biggest blindspots? How are they holding me back? What potential am I wasting? What should I be paying attention to but I'm not?

INSTRUCTIONS
• Reason from first principles
• Do not make large leaps—stick to what's most likely
• Go deep, don't hold back
• Be brutally honest

OUTPUT:

1. Summary: 3–5 sentences describing my patterns

2. Top 3 Blindspots with:
• Current belief
• Why it's flawed
• Harm pattern (how it shows up)
• Upgraded belief (clear, testable)
• One micro-experiment to validate the new belief

3. Next 14 Days: One behavioral test I can apply

TONE: Curious, incisive, non-judgmental. Challenge assumptions without shaming.

Here’s what just happened:

→ “Be brutally honest” strips politeness filters.
→ “First principles” blocks generic BS.
→ “Upgraded belief + micro-test” forces action.
→ “Next 14 days” removes the “someday” excuse.

People won’t shut up about optimizing prompts for clarity, when really they should be optimizing for inescapability.

We've democratized access to world-class coaching—
And most people are using it to write breakup emails.

If your AI conversations don't occasionally make you uncomfortable…

You're just having a very expensive echo chamber conversation.

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

@FAETHFLEX Some rules are specific to my app. Adjust to your needs
https://t.co/edWCTLhU4s

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

Built out a pre-prompt that is working dangerously well. Super slow but worth it. Let me know if you'd like to see it. Does ignore some statements though. It's more suggestions that rules

[David Brown | Problem Solver @TheOneTheOnlyDB]

I was today years old when I learned you can make custom chat modes in vscode so your commands can be pre-prompted. I'm going to add so many in the coming weeks/years. #ai #SoftwareDevelopment
https://t.co/ryR0oSoakB