Revisiting Vikram Chandra’s Ode to the Art of Human Coding in the Age of AI

In 2012, Indian-American writer Vikram Chandra published Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, The Code of Beauty, a non-fiction book exploring the relationship between coding and aesthetics.

The book examines how writing computer code can be both a technical and creative act, comparing it to literature and poetry.

Chandra, known for his novels like Sacred Games, draws on his own experiences as a programmer to argue that coding is an art form that requires deep thought and imagination.

The title reflects two key ideas: the sublime (a concept in art and philosophy describing experiences that inspire awe or terror) and the dual nature of code as both functional and expressive.

The book was published twelve years ago, a significant gap in the fast-evolving field of technology, where progress often outpaces the lifespan of ideas.