# Expert Mode and Novice Mode of Vibe Coding ## Metadata **Status**:: #x **Zettel**:: #zettel/fleeting **Created**:: [[2025-12-01]] ## Synopsis 1. In domains where you’re an expert: You use AI as an idea amplifier—to explore options, draft implementations, and spark innovative solutions—while you own the design, constraints, and final code. 2. In domains where you’re not familiar: You use AI as an implementation surrogate—you specify the outcome in natural language and largely delegate the build, trusting the AI much more by default. AI helps to expand the design space and accelerate the boring bits, not to decide what “correct” even means. AI doesn’t just change how we code; it changes where we locate our judgment. 1. In your expert domains, judgment stays firmly with you; AI expands your option set and speeds execution. 2. In your non-expert domains, judgment tends to drift toward the AI, unless you deliberately pull it back via verification, ==learning==, or human review. ## Expert Mode Prompt for exploration, not just code. > [!example] > List 5 radically different approaches to X; compare trade-offs for scale, cost, and complexity. Ask for ugly options too. Sometimes seeing a “bad but interesting” idea reveals a new design angle. ## Novice Mode Learn from AI. > [!example] Tutor Mode > Explain what this code does, assuming I’m new to X. > > What are the main failure modes of this approach? > [!example] Contractor Mode > Now implement the simplest version of this, prioritizing clarity over cleverness, and add comments explaining each major step.