[antifragile 4 🔥] 🧠 Brain FIRST - an important MIT Study on ChatGPT, riding the waves, Haidt on an essential role of fathers, the end of an era

#50: a weekly 4-item newsletter created to inspire dads to use the challenges of fatherhood as fuel for building an incredible life & an antifragile mind.

Welcome to the 50th edition of the antifragile 4 🔥. And Happy July 4th 🇺🇸!

It’s a weekly 4-item newsletter created to inspire dads to use the challenges of fatherhood as fuel for building an incredible life & an antifragile mind. Some weeks will have a theme, others will meander. Expect it every Friday.

This week’s edition has important stuff (especially the ChatGPT study).

I hope you enjoy!

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Here is this week’s antifragile 4 🔥:

1. BRAIN FIRST 🧠 🥇 an actionable MIT study on the impact of ChatGPT on the brain

2. a quote about 🌊🏄‍♂️ riding the waves of your mind

3. Jonathan Haidt 😈 on an essential role of fathers

4. a powerful reframe ☕️ on the end of an era

+ AI Image of the Week 🤖 🎨

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1.) BRAIN FIRST 🧠 🥇 an actionable MIT study on the impact of ChatGPT on the brain

Here’s the TL;DR…

• An MIT study found that relying on ChatGPT while writing significantly decreases productive brain activity.

• The study also found that writing initially (i.e. 1st Draft) without ChatGPT and then using ChatGPT to help refine their work showed the strongest brain activity.

• TAKEAWAY: Use your Brain FIRST, ChatGPT LATER…and then a HUMAN.

A study from MIT tested how different tools affect essay writing across three groups: LLM-Assisted (ChatGPT), Search Engine-Assisted, and Brain-Only.

Here’s what they found:

• 83% of the LLM (ChatGPT) group couldn’t recall what they wrote

• ~10% forgetfulness rate in the other groups

• 47% reduction in neural connectivity in the ChatGPT group

• When asked to write without ChatGPT, the LLM group performed worse than those who had never used it

• Brain scans showed weaker activation in areas tied to idea generation and working memory

• Researchers noted lower frontal theta connectivity in the LLM group, suggesting lighter executive demands—essentially, the “human thinking and planning was offloaded…”.

LLM-assisted writing (LLM group) elicited a generally lower connectivity profile…significantly lower frontal theta connectivity in the LLM group possibly indicates that their working memory and executive demands were lighter, presumably because the bot provided external cognitive support (e.g. suggesting text, providing information, structure). Essentially, some of the “human thinking” and planning was offloaded…”

Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task

But here’s the twist: When the Brain-Only group later used ChatGPT to enhance their writing, their neural pathways strengthened - indicating AI can be a tool for growth when used after idea generation.

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Here’s my breakdown…

• Technology = Outsourcing = Atrophy: Every major tech has traded capability for convenience.

  • Agriculture: We lost wilderness knowledge

  • Industry: We lost agricultural self-sufficiency

  • Calculator: We lost mental math

  • Google Maps: We lost our sense of direction

• AI’s Trade-Off: For the first time, we’re outsourcing both idea generation and execution. If we skip the thinking and jump to the prompting, the brain stops flexing those muscles. Creativity and clarity fade.

• The Silver Lining: Used after the initial effort of idea generation, AI can sharpen and refine ideas—amplifying, not replacing, our thinking. It can help cement the neural pathways even further than writing without it.

Here’s the action I’m taking from this…

• Use Brain FIRST, ChatGPT LATER…and then Another Human AFTER THAT: Mental lifting needs to be done first by the brain, then ChatGPT can help refine/clean up the writing. But nothing matches a great human editor in terms of improving the quality of your thinking & writing.

  • I wonder if we will see an increase in degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s if our population collectively decreases its active neural pathways 😅

• New Data Point for my Technology Philosophy: It's no longer optional for parents in our generation to have a technology philosophy. Allowing our kids unabated access to these technologies is not an option. But we also can’t put our heads in the sand. This is another data point for me.

The burning question: Do I use ChatGPT for this newsletter? Until now, I have mostly stayed away from it. I generated a few sections from scratch, and they were largely lifeless.

But, after I finished (completely) writing this section, I decided to take my own medicine and use ChatGPT to clean it up. I can attest that 1.) it feels more digestible to the reader and 2.) (more importantly) I feel more in control of the information than I did upon initially writing.

BUT ALSO, I had my (human) sister proofread this section, and she provided the most helpful feedback in terms of overall readability.

More tests needed 🔬

2.) a quote about 🌊🏄‍♂️ riding the waves of your mind

You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Author of Wherever You Go, There You Are,

No other habit in my life matches the ROI of meditation.

With consistent practice, my days get brighter.
Frustrations go from a 7/10 to a 2/10.
I feel less rushed.
More in control.
Less likely to hurl toys through drywall after tripping over them.

Even when Adley demands chicken nuggets, only to hate them four minutes later - I don’t spiral.

I just feel…happy. Regardless of what’s happening.

It’s as close to a mental panacea as exists.

Exercise, writing & copious coffee consumption with loved ones are close, but meditation takes the crown.

And yet-
It’s also the easiest skip.
First on the chopping block.
Easiest to rationalize away.

Note to future self:
Don’t skip.
Don’t chop.
Don’t excuse.

Get down on the floor and breathe 🧘‍♂️.

(ChatGPT was used to clean this up 🧹)

3.) Jonathan Haidt 😈 on an essential role of fathers

4.) a powerful reframe ☕️ on the end of an era

Since we moved back to Maryland in 2022, I’ve gotten coffee with a friend just about every other week. They’ve been an absolute treasure.

It’s the epitome of the Importance of Time Spent with Other Men I wrote about last week. We talk fatherhood, work, fitness, investing, Bitcoin, the weather…all the things.

It helps keep both of us sane.

But now that we’re moving to Denver, it’s coming to an end.

Someone asked my friend if he was sad that our coffees would be ending…and I loved his answer.

It was No.

Instead, he said he was grateful they happened at all. That they were a gift.

He must have been channeling Dr. Seuss:

Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.

What a powerful way to think about anything that’s ending.

Instead of clinging to something that’s coming to an end and creating suffering for yourself, why not create joy and bask in the gratitude of that thing happening at all?

Thanks to fellow antifragile dad Matt L for the coffee. May they not be done for good. ☕️

AI Image of the Week 🤖 🎨

create an image of a strong brain fueled by writing and an atrophied brain that’s connected to AI

Two last things for you this week:

1. Use your Brain FIRST. Use it or lose it.

2. Be fire and wish for the wind 🔥

With love,
Chris

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