In the early days of computing Garbage In/Garbage out was a common phrase to hear. It meant the quality of a programs output directly depends on the quality of the input. A deterministic algorithm follows a set of pre-programmed instructions because it can’t think for itself. Give the instructions bad input and you will certainly get flawed output. Perhaps you could argue the same for AI today. Despite it’s ability to “think” and “learn” if you train the AI on a flawed or bad model will it really produce the output you expect? But this post is not intended to debate semantics of AI over traditional computing. It’s meant to be a metaphor for the human mind. Meaning the quality and consistency of the content you put into your brain will ultimately determine your capabilities and outcomes in life.
Job Interview Gone Wrong
Imagine this hypothetical scenario. “Steve” is interviewing for a programmer position. he’s passed the first round interview with no problem. He was asked to code a solution to a small bounded problem. Write an algorithm to determine X. He goes to the internal library in his mind to see what tools and solutions there are to work with. He finds a programming language he’s comfortable with, some basic data structures he learned in college and memories of a similar challenges he solved on HackerRank. Steve aces the first part of the interview given the tools and experiences he has.
However, now Steve is on to the second round where he’s tasked with something significantly more complex. How would you architect an entire platform to solve problem X for market Y? His mind goes blank. He has no idea where to even start. Come up with nothing tangible he’s declined an offer because he failed to demonstrate any real world thinking solving a real world problem.
Self-Reflection
Here is a metaphor to understand what went wrong. Think of your mind as a laboratory. A well equipped laboratory would be clean and organized, have adequate tools and equipment, a network of other scientists, relevant books and reference materials, and a catalog of past experiments with learnings and outcomes documented. There would be adequate resources to solve the problem at hand. However, this lab was practically empty. It contained inadequate tools, irrelevant reading material and a lack of real-world experiences. Garbage In/Garbage Out. That’s the compound effect of putting garbage into your brain. Steve’s lab was ill prepared to solve the task at hand.
Change Your Habits
If you’re feeling stuck, look back and try to quantify the hours of useless content you have put into your brain. Sports, alcohol, social media, entertainment (tv shows, movies, YouTube, memes). Now what if that time was replaced with something more productive. Learning a new language or platform, working on a side project, starting a blog, etc. Your lab would be significantly more advanced and prepared. Think of how much farther you would be in your career and how many new opportunities would be available to you. Always look critically at what you’re putting into your mind. There is a saying that you are the average of your 5 best friends. Hang out with losers and you’ll be the 6th. I think the same can be send for your mind. You’ll be the average of the content you consume. Garbage In/Garbage out. Be the gatekeeper of your mind. Anytime you’re about to pick up your phone to consume a piece of media, stop and ask yourself this question. Is this going to get me to where I want to go? It might not seem like much time wasted in the moment, but think about that time compounded exponentially and ask yourself again. Is this going to advance my capabilities or stunt them?