Incorporating new things into daily life
When I first got online, via an AOL CD-ROM, I thought being online was the AOL homepage. And the only button that mattered was the kids only section. And the best game, of course, was Skunny.
It wasn’t until over a year later that I discovered the browser. My brain struggled to comprehend what this meant. Instead of thinking of the internet as a limited place with a few links, I realized I could just type things in and go. I remember waiting for minutes at a time for new Beanie Babies to load on ty.
Around 2000 I discovered search engines. I could type something in, and a moment or two later I might find what I was looking for. Ask Jeeves, Yahoo Search, Lycos, I explored these and started to look things up, my mind started to understand that I could access just about anything. Lycos was my favorite because of the dog.
In 2001 I learned about Google. It was different, better in every way, and fast. I tested a few search queries, and my mind was blown. I never went back to the other search engines. It was just that good. Within days it became a new part of my life.
If I had a question, I started to just search for it. In my early days of flip phones I was so proud of the ability to call Google for basic directory questions on the go. I even used a very basic version of the internet on a Razr, mainly to access Google. The smartphone changed all this again.
In my childhood we’d sit around a table debating something, unable to truly know the answer, going around in circles for minutes at a time. It was fun, but the conversation generally ended without learning anything new. Google, via the smartphone, changed that. You could find an answer in an instant, and sometimes know for certain. Of course it didn’t always work, but often you just knew and the discussion was over (or veered into conspiracy theory territory).
Because of the value of search, especially built into browsers by default, it’s been my goto for over 20 years.
WIth the advent of ChatGPT I’ve been trying this again. I’ve been tearning to searching ChatGPT via the Mac app or iOS app. Results are mixed.
If I’m trying to look something up, Google gets me a result far faster, but then I have to dig around through all the ad cruft. ChatGPT is slower, but has a chance of giving me the one answer I want. But it can also be flat out wrong.
If I’m trying to solve a problem I’ll often search in Google and append the word Reddit or Stack Overflow. In ChatGPT you just type in the problem and hope it doesn’t hallucinate and then check its sources.
The result is that ChatGPT is interesting, but not yet instantly and overwhelmingly useful. I keep testing daily to see if it will click in my brain as a first go-to for thinking, queries, and wondering about the world. It’s not there yet, and the biggest limitation is speed; not hallucinations. It reminds me of sitting around for Lycos and waiting for the little dog to bring me a bone.
I’m excited to see things speed up, then I could see ChatGPT taking over Google.