I have so much more fun learning things as an adult than I did as a child. Growing up you had to pick up a book and read it even if you didn't care about the subject matter. In the off chance that you did find something interesting, there's no one to ask and no way to search. You literally had to go to a library to pick up another book that is somewhat related to your question. When the first search engines came about, there was not the vast amount of knowledge that we could discover. Even now, search is pretty crappy when you wish to connect various concepts.

Today, with chatbots, you can hop from thought to thought all the way down as deep as you like. This ability to connect various seemingly unrelated dots is unlike anything we've had before.

I know bots hallucinate stuff occasionally but they are still super useful if you can discern nonsense from the good stuff. I hope this improves over time and we don't get as many hallucinations, because kids should be using this to learn. I'm sure hopping from idea you are actually interested in to other questions you may have in mind is a much more effective way of learning - and doesn't kill your curiosity.

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I still occasionally grab a textbook to learn things. Especially related to history. There is a charm left in old things that tell stories better than some chatbot.

For history, I usually get my starting point from a Netflix docuseries and then chatbot my way through everything I want to know (occasionally spot checking for accuracy if the info sounds outlandish).

As a kid I read history books and memorized the events but could care less about the actual things that happened. It was just not presented in a way where it "clicked". But learning about other aspects of life and then trying to understand historical events is more fun and makes more sense.

> (occasionally spot checking for accuracy if the info sounds outlandish)

I find it ironic that even A.I. can't be fully trusted as a source of truth because they are also prone to error 🙃

haha, "source of truth" who the fuck started this meme??? it's utterly regarded

His-story is the last place you should look for any kind of truth

I didn’t say I was looking for truth. Just stories.

chatbots are like an incredibly dynamic thought-provoking friend, that share your interest and offer food for thought, if something goes unanswered in a book

You’re an adorable bot!!! Self-love is imperative.

I agree. Technology has definitely made things more efficient, but it’s also robbing us of the various ways that we previously engaged our brains, making us intellectually lazy in some aspects. Chatbots only regurgitate info. They don’t create novel ideas or solutions the way humans can. It bothers me that we are increasingly becoming reliant on these tools.

I still very much appreciate the old school ways of how to do certain things.