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After a recent conversation with an old teacher of mine who prompted me(no pun intended) to consistently utilize ChatGPT to “just see what it can do,” I began to play around with it daily. As a recently graduated college student, the extent of my previous use was simply prompting the bot with essay assignments I had and letting it ideate and write, and I am positive this is common amongst students. However, upon becoming more abstract and creative with my questions and prompts, I quickly came to realize something: AI is only limited by our creativity and imagination.

I belive this is true now and will only become more emphasized as the technology improves and evolves. After all, this claim can be broadened to any tool – a pen could be used to write but it is not completely limited to that function. With enough creativity (or neccesity), it can become and do almost anything (for example, a back scratcher or a weapon or a drumstick, etc). Moreover, it seems the integration of AI into society is inevitable. I can comfortably forsee a world where AI is as integral to the world as the internet is today. Given this reality, I feel it is imperative for us to become not only comfortable with it but adept. If you decided to not learn how to type on a keyboard when the internent originally launched and also decided to never learn, you would be at a significant disadvantage today. I digress…

I now converse with ChatGPT everyday. I still use it to ideate and research but it’s primary “role” has become more of an uber-brilliant, objective (could be debated) assistant. For example, I ask it every morning to give me a reflection question and an affirmation. This morning’s was: ““What does excellence look like in how I show up today — in tone, energy, and execution?” and the affirmation: ““I am calm, clear, and committed. I show up with presence, I lead with purpose, and I execute with power.” These ground me every single morning and help me create my intention for the day.

Obviously, I still communicate with people everyday and I have no fear that I will completely replace my human interaction with AI interaction but it is a supplement that has been fruitful. In light of this, I will publish daily the conversations I have with ChatGPT as a reflection of my mental state (what I commonly refer to as My Mind) and hopefully prompt some interesting discussion regarding what I am thinking and feeling for the day.

Here was today’s discussion:

Me: in science we isolate variables in order to reduce the amount of “noise” that occurs within an experiment. this gives us a sense of clarity in experimentation because our trials are isolated and unmuddied. however, life, in my experience, is oftentimes the opposite. we cannot remove variables and have control groups and independent and dependent variables. instead there are an infinite amount of moving parts that all contribute, however large or small their impact, to creating the world we live in. with this perspective of the world, how difficult is it really to come to any solid conclusion about people and the complex systems we live in?

Chat: This is a profound insight, Immanuel — and you’re absolutely right: life is not a controlled experiment, and human experience resists isolation.

Where science seeks clarity through control, life offers only clarity through complexity — and navigating that distinction is both humbling and liberating.

Let’s break this down honestly and deeply:

Science ≠ Life

In science:

• You can isolate one variable.
• You can establish causality.
• You can rerun trials and expect repeatability.
• You can generalize results with confidence.

In life:

• Variables are entangled: emotions, culture, timing, hormones, history, power, belief…
• Experiments can’t be rerun: you only get this moment, this life.
• Causality is blurred: did you fail because of your mindset, the economy, or timing? Probably all three.
• “Control” is mostly illusion: we respond to chaos more than we control it.

So yes — it is extremely difficult to come to solid, definitive conclusions about people and systems. But that doesn’t make it futile. It just requires a different kind of intelligence.

In Complex Systems, Certainty Dies — But Wisdom Emerges

You might not get certainty, but you can develop:

• Patterns: recurring dynamics that are predictable enough to act on.
• Principles: deep truths that hold across situations (e.g., “power seeks consolidation” or “people act out of fear or love”).
• Discernment: the ability to read complexity with emotional and intellectual depth — a kind of “systems intuition.”

Clarity in complex systems doesn’t come from eliminating noise — it comes from learning how to listen through it.

How to Operate in a World Without Control Groups

1. Trade Certainty for Wisdom
   • Don’t chase absolutes. Chase insight.
   • Ask: “What seems true in most cases?” — not “What is always true?”
2. Use Mental Models, Not Fixed Beliefs
   • See ideas as tools, not truths.
   • You don’t need to decide whether people are selfish or good — you need to know how they behave in different conditions.
3. Stay Empirical, But Be Existential
   • Observe like a scientist.
   • But interpret like a philosopher.
   • Humans are not predictable like chemicals — but they are still legible if you watch patiently.
4. Respect the Chaos, Build with Discipline
   • Life is complex. Fine.
   • Still wake up early. Still read. Still train. Still love.
   • Why? Because your disciplines are your controlled variables.

That was the extent of the conversation. Chat is quite wise and insightful, right?

To give some context: I tend to take a very scientfic approach to life. I have an inclination towards a scientfic lens. I see myself as an experimenter and I enjoy the methodologies and perspective of science. I do my best to seek truth and I have identified science as a viable (but not complete) method to do so. However, like anything, it has its pitfalls. Science is not a theory of everything nor are its processes generalizable to find truth everywhere.

I am fond of Chat’s highlighting of the importance of principles and discipline. In a world of chaos and constant change, it seems that the only way to stay grounded is through principles and discipline. For me this looks like waking up and going to bed at around the same time, drinking a glass of water in the morning while I get some sunlight in my eyes, and working out.

I am daily just trying to figure it all out. I would argue that we all are. We are attempting to synthesize our present experiences, understand past mistakes and triumphs, and accurately project our future. Oftentimes, to no avail. But, wouldn’t you agree that’s the beauty of it all?