> With agents, does it become practical to have large codebases that can be read like a narrative, whose prose is kept in sync with changes to the code by tireless machines?

I think this is true. Your point supports it. If either the explanation / intention or the code changes, the other can be brought into sync. Beautiful post. I always hated the fact that research papers don't read like novels, eg "ohk, we tried this which was unsuccessful but then we found another adjacent approach and it helped."

Computer Scientist Explains One Concept in 5 Levels of Difficulty | WIRED

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOGdb1CTu5c

Computer scientist Amit Sahai, PhD, is asked to explain the concept of zero-knowledge proofs to 5 different people; a child, a teen, a college student, a grad student, and an expert. Using a variety of techniques, Amit breaks down what zero-knowledge proofs are and why it's so exciting in the world of cryptography.