I’m thinking lately about the impact of my habits on my life.

The two main controversial factors are:

  1. Watching YouTube
  2. Using LLMs

These two things practically save my platform usage to suggest new products. Obviously YouTube makes me fall into the rabbit hole of watching more and more radical content. It’s also very good at making me click at stuff that from the title and thunmbnail are potentially very interesting. The cost of 10-20 minutes seem low to how much im interested in the subject. After consuming this i could be finally happy as ive understand some topic that is valueable to me. The premises suggest that i will posses the knowledege. Of course, its only the surface level knowledge, but still.

But i like youtube. Objectively, now that im writing it, i think i dont have reasons to do so. Today ive watched a lot of youtube, but i dont rememeber much. The only thing thats left is the surface thinking: oh this happened, and this guy is frustrated so i should also and this guy thinks this is cool so i should probably too. Sometimes i put a bit of analysis into this, like: i dont think that is this much of a problem, or this is not as cool as suggested. But i dont really engage further than that. A lot of things on youtube seem cool but they are not valuable to me i guess.

YouTube takes so much time out of me - its crazy. But i dont think that the issue is youtube to me. I think its my habit of surface thinking. I believe that my beliefs on things are weak. I’m not for or against many subjects. I dont trust myself really. I may have thought that this is a good thing, that im still flexible and open in my thinking and i can change my stances on things. I do think there is still some truth to that. I think i have been open to many schools over the years. I believe that listening to different voices is beneficiary.

When watching a tv series i know how much time ive “lost”. I’m in one series and i can count the time spent. But with youtube its pretty hard. Maybe i should build a tool for that? But objectively - ive observed this multiple times.. watching youtube is a waste of time. Yes - i’ve discovered some pretty cool things with youtube i couldnt find otherwise. Thats the only thing that kinda distracts me from quitting for good.

With LLMs - i use it now for a few things.

  • asking for help on how to do basic things i probably should know and feel that ai will respond best as opposed to friends that may be wrong or searching and having to decipher multiple ads-filled websites.
  • checking my solutions to math problems. I think its reasonable, since it adds a layer of protection over being wrong. But i have to still remember to think through the problem and my solution myself to be able to correct mistakes myself. The llm should be the last resort. And now that im writing it – maybe i use it too early. I should be confident in my answer. More often than not i use it to suggest solutions. I feel like this is a really bad since i avoid having to read my book which will answer better.
  • researching the web. Researching the web is pretty painful right now. There are often many websites that are just filled with bullshit. Often deep research llms find the most important things well. Is reading something in a llm-generated website better than deep research? No. Is reading something in a highly-acclaimed website than deep research? This is where its hard to answer. On one hand the answers in the first are probably checked by some real human being which is a value in itself, but its only one source. Deep research often uses reddit or other forums so that gathers more perspectives on the topic. Maybe just using site:reddit.com and reading a bit is better? It takes more effort regardless.

Is using web rather than llms better? I think the same. Both has its pros and cons. But the real value comes from long form content like books. But they are hard. I also think (tho less) you can rot your brain through books if youre not actively thinking about this. But its so much less engaging that you kinda do. Maybe thats the real value - thinking. If youre thinking - thats good. It doesnt matter if its youtube or books or ai. Think. But material form matters. Think.