I do think a simple rule like "I always write a first draft" goes a long way to deal with this. Editing is what is painful and takes a lot of time (at least for me). In pretty any type of text I'd want assistance with, I still have to structure and lay out the ideas to create a prompt, so for me I might as well just write the draft.
Couldn't agree more. By this logic, producing AI-generated text first would shift the editing burden on to you. Exactly the opposite of what you'd want.
I will say, there's something to be said for the amount of "banal" (as Paul puts it) text that comes with a job in academia. And I have few qualms about outsourcing the production of that.
Very useful post. This feedback-but-never-rewrite approach is a game changer for serious writing. You instantly get the kind of perspective that only used to come with days away from the writing.
Very thoughtful and useful. My experience is that it takes work to use LLMs on things that require actual creativity. There are a lot of great ideas in this post that help me think about and structure this work. Thanks!
> The real trick is knowing what bright line we put between the banal and the important.
Yes, this is the most important sentence of this entire post.
I do think a simple rule like "I always write a first draft" goes a long way to deal with this. Editing is what is painful and takes a lot of time (at least for me). In pretty any type of text I'd want assistance with, I still have to structure and lay out the ideas to create a prompt, so for me I might as well just write the draft.
Couldn't agree more. By this logic, producing AI-generated text first would shift the editing burden on to you. Exactly the opposite of what you'd want.
I will say, there's something to be said for the amount of "banal" (as Paul puts it) text that comes with a job in academia. And I have few qualms about outsourcing the production of that.
Very useful post. This feedback-but-never-rewrite approach is a game changer for serious writing. You instantly get the kind of perspective that only used to come with days away from the writing.
Glad you found it useful!! I agree, it’s low cost and immediate, which is a really great way to speed up things like this.
Looks like your full style guide link is pointing to localhost! Really enjoyed this post.
Oops! Thanks for that. Fixing!
hey Paul - current link seems to be to https://paulgp.com/writing_style.md , which is also giving a 404
Dang it!! Fixed one way and then made a new bug. Fixing! Sorry
Fixed_v2_for_real
https://paulgp.com/style_guide.md
awesome, thanks!
Oh goodness... Dostoyevsky gave me a good little chuckle!
Very thoughtful and useful. My experience is that it takes work to use LLMs on things that require actual creativity. There are a lot of great ideas in this post that help me think about and structure this work. Thanks!
will definitely adopt the phrase cognitive offloading from now on, very accurate