Is AI Harming Your Ability to Think? The Impact of Outsourcing Writing
Writing has long been recognized as a critical skill for personal and professional success. It is not just a medium for communication but a powerful tool for organizing and clarifying thoughts. The ability to write clearly is deeply connected to the ability to think clearly, and this connection has profound implications for success in various areas of life.
With the nascent of ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence (AI) tools based on large language models (LLMs), we are increasingly “outsourcing” the writing process to these tools.
What we get is improved effectiveness and efficiency of our work.
What we lose is our ability to think clearly. Clear thinking requires practice, and if we don’t practice it, we are going to lose the ability to think and communicate clearly. As we become sloppy in our writing, we become sloppy in our thinking. If we outsource our writing to technology, we also outsource our thinking. We become living zombies who cannot think critically and express our thoughts in a way for others to follow, understand, and accept.
Writing As A Mirror Of Thought
William Zinsser, author of On Writing Well, notes, “Writing is thinking on paper.”
Writing forces us to process our thoughts systematically. The act of writing requires us to structure ideas, draw connections, and present arguments in a coherent manner. Organizing thoughts on paper often leads to deeper understanding and insight.
According to a study by Jonah Berger and Olivier Toubia, the way people express their ideas through writing can significantly predict their future academic success. The research analyzed over 40,000 college application essays and found that students whose writing covered more semantic ground and did so more cohesively were more likely to achieve higher grades in college.
The study suggests that the topography of thought, or how ideas are connected and presented in writing, strongly indicates cognitive abilities that contribute to success. Writing that covers more ground and does so logically and coherently reflects a person who can navigate complex ideas and make meaningful connections. This ability is crucial for academic success, problem-solving, and decision-making in various aspects of life.
The Role Of AI In Writing And Its Impact On Thinking
With the rapid development of AI tools designed to assist with writing, there is a growing concern that reliance on these tools may hinder the development of clear thinking. AI can generate text, suggest phrases, and even correct grammar, making writing tasks easier. However, when people overly depend on these tools, they may miss out on the cognitive benefits of the writing process.
Writing is more than just producing text. It is about developing ideas and refining them through critical thinking. AI tools remove this part of the intellectual process. Over-reliance on AI can lead to a superficial approach to writing, where individuals focus on producing text rather than developing and clarifying their thoughts. This can result in a decline in the quality of thinking, as the cognitive processes that writing typically stimulates are bypassed.
The Connection Between Writing And Clear Thinking
One of the reasons I started to blog in 2013 was to make sense of the ideas I had. I wanted to share my thoughts and experiences with others, but primarily, I wanted to create clarity for myself. Writing a blog post forces me to dig deeper into a topic, research it, and come up with some information and points of view I wouldn’t have considered otherwise. It helps me think critically about the subject. I often start writing on a topic with an idea of my message, only to discover that my thinking was wrong or incomplete. Writing helps me learn.
Research consistently shows that writing is closely linked to clear thinking. The study in PNAS Nexus referenced above highlights how the organization of ideas in writing reflects underlying cognitive processes. This is nothing new. The Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, one of the greatest thinkers of his time, popularized the Feynman Technique, which emphasizes the importance of clear writing in understanding complex concepts. According to this technique, if you can’t explain something simply and clearly in writing, you likely do not understand it well enough. He suggests four steps approach:
1.?? Select a concept to learn – something you are curious about and write down everything you already know and want to understand better. As you keep learning, keep filling in the blanks on the paper.
2.?? Pretend to teach it to a child – once you believe you understand the topic well, teach it to a child or someone with zero knowledge of it. It will force you to use simple language and try to simplify complex topics, remove jargon, and generally distill only what is important.
3.?? Reflect on gaps in your understanding – then write down the simplified explanation and reflect on it. Does it make sense? Is it clear enough? Do you need to go back and learn more about some parts of it to be able to understand it and explain it better? Your notes at this point should have no jargon and nothing that requires guessing or extensive prior knowledge of the topic. Go back to the source material if you find gaps in your understanding.
4.?? Review and think about analogies – now you are ready to present your explanation to others in the real world. Note what questions they asked and any parts you had to repeat or where you lost them and had to re-explain. Once you feel other people understand your explanation, you have learned the topic and can move on to the next one. To help out with the explanation, think about analogies that might illustrate what you are trying to explain.
This process forces you to confront gaps in your understanding and to refine your thoughts until they can be expressed clearly. The act of writing, therefore, becomes a tool for learning and intellectual development.
The drawback of this technique is that it is rather time-consuming, and therefore, it may not be the most efficient way to learn. However, it is effective. The concepts you learn this way will stick with you.
How To Learn To Write Clearly
Given the importance of writing for clear thinking, it is essential to develop strong writing skills. Here are some strategies for improving writing clarity:
Read Widely and Critically: Reading a variety of well-written texts can expose you to different writing styles and techniques. Analyze how authors structure their arguments and present their ideas, and apply these techniques to your writing.
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Practice Regularly: Like any skill, writing improves with practice. Regular writing exercises can help you develop the ability to express your thoughts clearly and concisely.
Use the Feynman Technique: When learning something new, try to write an explanation of the concept in simple terms. This will help you identify areas where your understanding is weak and needs further clarification.
Revise and Edit: Clear writing often comes from thorough revision. After writing a draft, review it critically, looking for areas where the logic is unclear or the language is ambiguous. Editing is where much of the clarity in writing is achieved.
Seek Feedback: Sharing your writing with others can provide valuable insights into how your ideas are perceived. Constructive feedback can help you identify and address weaknesses in your writing.
Limit Reliance on AI Tools: While AI writing tools can be helpful, use them sparingly. Focus on developing your writing and thinking skills, using AI as a supplementary tool rather than outsourcing your thinking.
Learn From Masters: While there are many books on grammar and writing, few have reached the status of The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. I would also suggest On Writing Well by William Zinsser. Others also recommend their reading lists for writers: here and here.
Putting It All Together
Writing is a fundamental skill that plays a crucial role in clear thinking and success in life. The ability to express ideas clearly in writing is closely linked to cognitive processes that underpin problem-solving, decision-making, and learning.
While AI tools offer convenience in writing, they should not replace the cognitive engagement that writing fosters. By developing strong writing skills, individuals can enhance their ability to think clearly and achieve success in various aspects of life.
Critical thinking and, therefore, clear writing are more important today than ever before.
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Originally posted on my blog about management, leadership, communication, coaching, introversion, stoicism, software development, and career The Geeky Leader or follow me on Facebook and Twitter: @GeekyLeader
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1 个月The robot voices are getting better and better too, but the one thing that's missing is that there is no thought there. I expect the written word is the same, it's just harder to discern.