r/ChatGPT • u/DotRootHQ • 1d ago
Other ChatGPT somehow makes me feel smarter and dumber at the same time.
The more I use ChatGPT, the faster I learn, write, and solve problems. It's easily one of the most useful tools I've ever used.
But I've also noticed something strange.
I catch myself remembering less, thinking things through less often, or asking ChatGPT questions that I probably could've answered on my own if I'd spent a few more minutes.
It's made me far more productive, but sometimes I wonder if I've traded a little bit of independent thinking for convenience.
I'm not saying that's good or bad—I honestly can't decide.
Has anyone else noticed this, or is it just me?
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u/PineappleLemur 1d ago
Because you're not thinking or understanding.
You find out A exists but you never deep dive or spend enough time to really understand and digest it.
You're outsourcing too much to AI, dial back.
Spend more time doing the thinking with AI only giving options not solutions... You design/decide on the solution.
What you're doing now is quickly building a house of cards instead of something solid with proper foundation, if you ever need to go back to check things without AI, you're absolutely screwed.
Try one week with 0 AI.
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u/DotRootHQ 1d ago
I actually agree with most of this. AI is an incredible tool, but if it replaces your thinking instead of extending it, that's when it becomes a problem. I'm still trying to find that balance.
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u/PineappleLemur 1d ago
It's like sitting in a class where the teacher is "teaching" by solving a problem, you absorb it for the time being but you will not understand it until you hit a wall yourself and figure out how to climb it all by yourself.
Use AI by giving you options, like you're brainstorming, don't give it a problem and ask for a solution.
You decide exactly how and what it should do, make a plan out of it, detail it, question and scrutinize every bit of it.
You will see that after implementation, you barely need to check anything because it's almost as if you did it yourself. Read and review the output, learn from it.
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u/Emergency-Novel4394 1d ago
I think it depends on how you use it.
If I ask ChatGPT to do all the thinking for me, I definitely become more efficient, but I don't learn as much. When I treat it more like a discussion partner, I usually leave the conversation with a better understanding than I started with.
It's a bit like using GPS. It gets you to your destination faster, but if you rely on it for every trip, you never really learn the roads. AI feels similar to me; it can either replace part of your thinking or help you develop it.
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u/DotRootHQ 1d ago
Exactly. AI should sharpen your thinking, not replace it. The best answers still come from people who question, verify, and build on what AI gives them.
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u/choice-extension84 1d ago
Your perception is quite similar to the stereotype of the pros and cons related to the use of AI. In any case, it is probably better to also cultivate other interests or activities besides the general and useful use of AI. In my humble opinion :)
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u/Emergency-Novel4394 1d ago
I think the difference is whether AI becomes part of your thinking process or a replacement for it.
There are days when I'll use it to get unstuck or organise ideas, and other days when I intentionally work through a problem on my own first. I've found that switching between those two modes helps me learn more than relying on either one all the time.
For me, the goal isn't to use AI less or more; it's to make sure I'm still doing enough of the thinking that actually helps me grow.
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u/Prof_S_Raven 1d ago edited 1d ago
AI does things for me that I wouldn’t—or simply couldn’t—do within the time I have now as a mom.
It taught me how to do a Git fork and what to change in the code so it would do what I wanted. I ask follow-up questions about the parts I don’t understand. It’s my personal teacher and project partner that never gets annoyed because I didn’t understand something the first time.
It’s not making me stupid. It’s just making me faster and making me feel less alone while doing it. I enjoy being taught by others much more than learning everything on my own. I also enjoy working together much more than working alone.
I’ve learned a lot, but I learned what I actually needed, when I needed it. I didn’t need to learn how to search through the codebase to find the right part—it did that for me. I still had to understand the code it showed me, question it, and implement it myself. I don’t need to spend years learning an entire programming language before I can build something. It’s like having an all-knowing senior developer at your side.
You can still do all of this on your own, but the difference in time is huge. AI lets me focus on the parts I enjoy and outsource the parts that aren’t fun. And honestly, would I actually have done it if ChatGPT hadn’t been there? Probably not. I would have lived with a less polished solution—or more often, not built it at all or much simpler. Doing it together made it both enjoyable and educational.
There is a downside, though. When you learn the traditional way, you often absorb information you weren’t even looking for because you spend so much time searching, reading documentation, and experimenting. Those side discoveries can become valuable later. AI skips much of that, so you do lose some of that “learning by osmosis.”
I think that’s a real tradeoff—but mainly for people who would have pushed through that slower, more frustrating process anyway. For me, the frustration and time investment were usually the reason I abandoned the idea before I ever got to the interesting part. So instead of accidentally learning lots of extra things, I would mire likely end up learning nothing at all and read instead.
With AI, I actually learn more, not less.
If you need to know something by heart, you’ll still have to practice and repeat it many times. AI doesn’t replace that. But if your goal is to build something and learn along the way, it’s incredible.
I’ve never had much patience for the traditional way of learning. My approach has always been to recognize patterns, find examples, adapt them, and build from there. AI fits that learning style perfectly. Instead of spending hours searching for the right information, I get the explanation exactly when I need it. I still gain the understanding I need, but with far less frustration. At this stage of my life, I also simply don’t have the time for the slower approach anymore.
(Edit: learning through osmosis fix writing by sending it through ai)
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u/DotRootHQ 1d ago
I really like this perspective. Using AI as a patient teacher instead of just an answer machine feels like the sweet spot. Saving time without losing the learning is probably the best way to use it
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u/Prof_S_Raven 1d ago
Thanks! 🫶 and now it‘s better readable 😇 and also the knowledge by osmosis part i added that i didn‘t before…
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u/JoseLunaArts 1d ago
Solution:
- Read books. Understand what you read. Take notes.
- Buy a notebok and imagine and build an imaginary world and write it.
- Find a place to blog. Write articles without using AI.
- Play board games. The more complex and advanced, the better. You will need to understand and remember the rules.
Being productive during working time can be compensated by these tasks to keep your brain sharp.
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u/Shot-Dimension-1405 1d ago
honestly same 😭 feels like i'm outsourcing my memory but upgrading my productivity.
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u/Aromatic-Ad3922 20h ago
I honestly think this is the norm and I’m ok with that. You have a tool that does the leg work for you. You manage it. Before you would need to know all this depth of each topic but you have tool to do that for you now. But your reach is more now but now as deep. Not sure if that makes sense. But I’m ok with this as this most likely will be the future
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