Post #155357

2026-01-24 22:03 UTC

Watching a video today on AI brain rot really helped cement for me what it is...a steady drop in practiced skills we take for granted. If you don't occasionally write emails, you get worse at it. if you don't do deep reading for yourself, you get worse at it. If you don't keep drawing or coding or composing, you get worse at them. Then the day comes when you need the skill, or something related to the skill, but you're too rusty to be effective. And critical thinking? Oh, that's a skill.

Replies (7)

@roadriverrail@signs.codes 2026-01-25 01:02

Thanks to @Specialist_Being_677 for finding a YouTube link for the video (I'd seen it on Nebula. Also, @Specialist_Being_677 is a very cool person. https://youtube.com/watch?v=7pqF90rstZQ

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@Gustodon@mas.to 2026-01-25 09:10

@roadriverrail 🏆

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@CriticalThinkingGames@games.ngo 2026-01-25 11:00

@roadriverrail When we had to memorize phone numbers we were good at it. But without the need to memorize now because of smartphones, it's challenging to remember just two phone numbers for safety purposes. (Abusers will often take your phone. You should memorize numbers of 2 folks to contact if needed.) And pre-GPS we were much better map readers. Keep practicing & honing our thinking skills! And, as always, remember: ▪️Be curious ▪️Be questioning ▪️Be open to the truths you learn #criticalthinking

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@otolithe@mastodon.social 2026-01-25 12:05

@roadriverrail @cstross but then this ensures you can never unsubscribe from whatever AI service you have been relying on. Captive audience as a business model.

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@geichel@mastodon.ie 2026-01-25 12:05

@roadriverrail the only thing I need those skills for is to get paid. I'll be saluting whatever flag my employer flies, because nobody I've ever worked with gets promoted on the quality of their email game. We're raising our prices and delivering slop. And, the customers are not churning. Not my cirus, not my monkey 🐒

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@superflippy@mastodon.xyz 2026-01-25 14:37

@roadriverrail Makes me think of the 2020 lockdown when I, like many people, stopped reading books. When I tried to start reading novels again in 2021, it was difficult. And reading books has been one of my favorite things for most of my life!

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@momo@social.linux.pizza 2026-01-26 10:36

@roadriverrail Back in the 80s and early 90s everyone had phone numbers memorized. Not many but the most important ones. Our home landline, the one from my grand parents, my moms work phone. Stuff like that. At the end of the 90s mobile phones became more common and people stopped memorizing phone numbers. It's all in their phones phonebooks. And you don't have to dial it anymore, just click on it. Incoming calls from known contacts are shown by name. Hey, it's mom! I can still tell you that my grandmas house was 06142-65846 (she died 10 years ago). And I have the same mobile number for 8 years now, but I still have to look it up. Because I never use that skill anymore.

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