The Dilemma
I solemnly swear to write this really fast.
Its a dilemma. Should I learn deeply or let Chatgpt think for me. I'd like to end with an A, but I'd also like to actually get what I'm learning. The grift, the lie has gotten so great that I don't believe anyone can keep up. Worst of all, I suspect professors know they can't do anything about it...
ChatGPT can solve it better than me or you, and I'll pass this Chem class with a superficial understanding and 4.0 the way this semester is going. The student today that truly understands is a rare breed, almost mythical status. Even my brightest friends grift their classes this way. And the real redpill here is as long as everyone uses it, and the incentive continues to be getting as high of a grade as you can, you will never win by putting in the work. Doesn't this scare you? I'm going to be in charge of actual THINGS in the future, THINGS that you will use and I'm training myself to trust the BOX over my own understanding. The "Innovation" of my generation will consist of a massive finger-paint-makeup-on-a-pig operation.
But deep down I want to know. I think knowledge is pretty neat! Could I please just sit with someone and be wrong over and over until I develop a real understanding? I'd like to meditate a bit on what an op amp does and not plug and play the answers through my superior googling (and it is quite good I must admit, I could probably pass your intermediate french class with flying couleurs (with free unrestricted access to the internet)) All of that so I can continue my practice into the workforce.
Where can I get that meditation? I thought I was going to college to do THAT.
~ I'm working in a lab, and for the last couple of months i've been banging my head on this one problem. I confess, I used to think I was quite clever and this has been gnawing at my self-esteem. What was my advisors advice? "Have you tried asking chatgpt?". And guess who understands the problem better than me, and my advisor.... If my "research" gets published and fed back into the BOX, who exactly benefits ? (The answer is me, my resume gets padded).
This feels right, like eating high-fructose corn syrup. And wrong like your arteries after decades of eating high-fructose corn syrup. I often wish I was born at a time where my success was correlated to my true understanding. The term "I'm going to hit the books" has very much been replaced with "I'm going to hit enter and drool a bit out of the side of my mouth"