#461 – ThePrimeagen: Programming, AI, ADHD, Productivity, Addiction, and God

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Mar 22, 2025

In this engaging conversation, Michael Paulson, known as ThePrimeagen, shares his journey as a programmer and influencer. He dives into the transformative power of programming, discussing the joy of discovery and creativity in coding. The talk also touches on mental health, personal challenges like ADHD, and the impact of addiction on relationships. With insights into the future of AI in programming, Paulson emphasizes the importance of merging technology with creativity, advocating for resilience and meaningful connections in both life and work.

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ANECDOTE

Linked List Epiphany

Michael Paulson's love for programming sparked in college during a data structures class on linked lists.
The concept of a class containing itself, representing infinite possibilities, profoundly impacted him.

ANECDOTE

Recursion Breakthrough

Paulson struggled with recursion until a maze-solving lab in college.
Applying recursion to a practical problem finally made the concept click for him.

INSIGHT

Boredom of Certainty

Paulson finds the worst aspect of programming is the absence of uncertainty and challenge.
When he knows everything about a project, it becomes monotonous and unfulfilling.

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ThePrimeagen (aka Michael Paulson) is a programmer who has educated, entertained, and inspired millions of people to build software and have fun doing it.
Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep461-sc
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EPISODE LINKS:
ThePrimeagen’s X: https://twitter.com/ThePrimeagen
ThePrimeagen’s YouTube: https://youtube.com/ThePrimeTimeagen
ThePrimeagen’s Twitch: https://twitch.tv/ThePrimeagen
ThePrimeagen’s GitHub: https://github.com/theprimeagen
ThePrimeagen’s TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@theprimeagen
ThePrimeagen’s Coffee: https://www.terminal.shop/

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OUTLINE:
(00:00) – Introduction
(10:27) – Love for programming
(20:00) – Hardest part of programming
(22:16) – Types of programming
(29:54) – Life story
(39:58) – Hardship
(41:29) – High school
(47:15) – Porn addiction
(57:01) – God
(1:12:44) – Perseverance
(1:22:40) – Netflix
(1:35:08) – Groovy
(1:40:13) – Printf() debugging
(1:46:35) – Falcor
(1:56:05) – Breaking production
(1:58:49) – Pieter Levels
(2:03:19) – Netflix, Twitch, and YouTube infrastructure
(2:15:22) – ThePrimeagen origin story
(2:30:37) – Learning programming languages
(2:39:40) – Best programming languages in 2025
(2:44:35) – Python
(2:45:15) – HTML & CSS
(2:46:05) – Bash
(2:46:45) – FFmpeg
(2:53:28) – Performance
(2:56:00) – Rust
(3:00:48) – Epic projects
(3:14:12) – Asserts
(3:23:26) – ADHD
(3:31:34) – Productivity
(3:35:58) – Programming setup
(4:11:28) – Coffee
(4:18:32) – Programming with AI
(5:01:16) – Advice for young programmers
(5:12:48) – Reddit questions
(5:20:20) – God

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