#371 The little that’s needed to be a writer

Achieving an outcome without the daily actions that lead to an identity shift is empty and unsustainable.

I may want to publish a book. But if someone writes the whole book without my input and I put my name on it in the end, do I deserve to call it my book?

I have a book. But I’m not a writer. And I’m not an author.

I may want to have a million dollars. But if tomorrow I win the lottery or receive a large inheritance without any action from my side, what does that mean?

I have a million dollars. But I’m not wealthy – and research suggests that without proper guidance, I’ll spend it all, ending up back at square one.

It works the other way around, too. You can blindly chase an outcome (or slip into bad habits) without considering how the actions you need to take to get there will change you as a person.

Depending on your actions to get there, chasing fame can make you happy – or very unhappy. Writing a book can make you happy or very unhappy. Building a hugely successful company can make you happy or very unhappy.

The value, satisfaction, and resentment are all in the actions, not the outcome.

If the storm ChatGPT is causing shows us one thing, it’s how unoriginal most of our thoughts are.

AI builds on a massive library of what others have learned before.

(Individual) humans build on a much smaller library of what others have learned before.

If we merely do what others have done before, in some fields, AI has caught up to us already.

What happens we build on what others have learned before, and combine it with what we learn ourselves (in other words, practice and skill building)?

Now we’re talking about innovation: we’re doing things that haven’t been done before.

And even then, one day, AI will possibly also innovate and do things that haven’t been done before.

Sheer “processing power” is not a game we can win.

The true question here:

If raw intelligence and “brain processing power” isn’t what makes us truly, uniquely human, then what is?