Etude · The anti-cascader
The teaching layer
Same diff. With and without the explanation wrapped around it.
The codemod produces a diff. Always the same diff. What changes is the layer wrapped around it — what the team sees before they read the patch, what they read alongside it, what they take into review.
Toggle the layer. Then answer four questions about the same migration step.
Migration step · javax → jakarta
Reader check · 4 questions
After you read the surface above (either mode), answer from what's on screen. No outside knowledge.
The load-bearing inversion
The bare codemod ships the artifact. The taught codemod ships the artifact + the model the team needs to review it. Same lines of code. Different review experience. Different next-time velocity.
Every surveyed AI coding tool's stance is "do the work" — Cursor, Continue, Aider, Cody, Copilot, Sweep. None ship the active teaching layer. The codemod-engine layer is mature; the team-side teacher is the gap.