My dad bought PrintShop Deluxe in the early '90s so we could print banners at home. We didn't need custom graphics. He knew you could just do things. The personal computer had arrived — not a tool for work, not an appliance. A toy.
Then it became necessary. Homework required it. Bills demanded it. The magic dulled into obligation.
We're in that window again, except with software. Previous tools made you think like an engineer. AI lets you think like a person with a problem.
In the last month I've built practice management software, a silly traffic monitor, workout trainer — not because I had to but because I could.
Do they need to exist? Does ice cream? You can just be selfish now.
Everything useful starts as a toy. The telephone. The automobile. The internet. Someone tinkering, not because they had to, but because they wondered what would happen if.
The window won't last. It never does. But right now we're playing.
Enjoy it before it becomes homework.