I really want to know more about these specific people you’ve run into this with, particularly age, education level, and maybe political affliations (curious if it runs the gamut or not).

For my part, Wikipedia’s usually a good starting point ‘source’, like an encyclopedia would be. But the actual sources referenced by a given article, carefully evaluated, are much better. A Google Search (once you scroll past the AI summary) can also yield good sources. I don’t bother with LLMs at all, too many issues with accuracy.

End of the day, these are all signposts to actual sources, not sources themselves. What you find through any of them need to be evaluated by where they are getting their information. It also depends on the topic and level of discussion. I’m personally OK with quoting Wikipedia about a general piece of trivia, but if I’m trying to make a serious argument about something it’d be silly to rely on it if I don’t know how strong the source behind it is. Could be well-researched and rock solid, could be bullshit with a flimsy reference no one’s caught yet.

I simultaneously think it’s fucked, and I can immediately think of people in my life where this’d be harm reduction.

I’ll speak directly to the last question: if you use AI as a means to generate ‘creative’ output (see: ideas on various topics/themes stolen from other folks), improv will likely help with learning to think on your feet and confidence in expressing yourself with reference just to the electrical impulses in your own noggin.

But I don’t think that alone is sufficient to fix a truly ‘AI-rotted brain’, which I take to mean a mind that reaches for easy answers and shortcuts. That’s a bigger project, and there’s a lot of good comments here and on your other post in that vein.

I don’t know your IRL circumstances, but a project idea for you: take a walk around the place you live with a notepad. Write down every question you have about any old stuff that catches your fancy/strikes you as weird (probably a good idea to take pictures too). Try and find the answers to those questions without using AI - instead, talk to a librarian, send an email to your local historical society, etc. etc. Ask for resources about the topic in question. Bonus points if you take that info and make something creative with it - a poem, a short story about someone contemporary to the thing you’re curious about, one act play, interpretive dance, whatever.

Like this for you simply because, depending on where you live and what catches your fancy, there may not be that much info fed into an AI database, but there could totally be a book/collection in an archive/knowledgeable person who’d be happy to chat about it.

This may set the groundwork for an uncomfortable discussion of your parents’ personal life these days.

[Said, obviously, not knowing the condition of your parents]

I’m curious if you want to expand on this. I’d posit that everyone has the capacity for evil, and we all have some degree of darkness inside of us, but I don’t think masking is necessarily people trying to hide an evil nature (though, to be fair, sometimes it definitely is).

Just trying to understand where you’re coming from with this. I’d argue that for most people masking, it’s an attempt to avoid social injury, usually because of past experiences where they suffered one for acting completely genuine. Usually innocuous stuff from childhood that few people truly bat an eye at in adulthood.

It would definitely depend on the cafe set up, but I would love this for places that serve drip, which is pretty much all I drink.

Edit: Apologies for the novel, might’ve gotten a bit carried away.

I dunno your lifestyle around alcohol, but if you really enjoy your beer for the beer of it all (and it’s not a problematic habit/drinking purely for effect), moderation and mindful nursing might be the move. Take the stuff below if it makes sense when being radically honest with yourself, toss it out the window entirely if it doesn’t.

Set one night a week (or longer interval) as beer night. Pay attention to what us other substance freaks call set and setting - go into it in an already good mood, in a space and set of circumstances that are arranged to be pleasing (for me, that’s out at a place I enjoy, preferably with something I like going on [live music, etc.]). If the set or setting (or, to quote Gen Z, the ‘vibes’) are off, do it some other time.

If the vibes are right, order/get one really, really good beer and a water. Your goal is to make that beer last at least an hour - you can have as much water as you want. So obviously, you should pick a beer that doesn’t taste like ass as it comes to room temp.

Take each sip very slowly - sniff it before you sip, let the beer sit on your tongue a bit, with a breath through the nose during, and sit with the finish after you sip for a little. Keep the ratio of beer sips to water sips at like 1 for every 4 or 5. Just make a mental note of stuff like the flavour, texture, finish as you’re drinking. Make note of any changes to those over the interval.

Once the beer is finished, have something else (preferably lower sugar - soda water with a little bitters and lime, hop water with a hop profile you enjoy, whatever you’d like from what’s available. If out, ask the bartender for a suggestion, some like the challenge but be mindful of how busy it is). You don’t need to make that last an hour, but try to enjoy it slowly. Once that’s finished, decide if you want one more beer, and if so repeat the process. End at max two beers, though you can close the tab (if your ideal setting is out at some place) on a not-beer-not-water drink if you want to stretch out your time in the atmosphere.

Life’s short, and filled with both horrors and moments of bliss. Little pleasures can enrich your time here, so long as you’re careful not to let their fingers wrap around your neck and become vices. Just have to approach them carefully with an eye to your larger goals and ideals.

Or, if you look at this and think “Naw dawg, if I tried this it’ll end in chugging multiple beers”, ok, let the beer go. There’s myriad other little pleasures you can integrate into your life, many of which are healthier anyway.

Edit edit: if you take the approach above and your ideal setting is out at some place, I usually follow a $1 per drink tip rule, and that calculation includes the water. It ingratiates you to the bar staff who might otherwise be peeved you sat there for two-three hours. I call it vibe insurance, lol.

I have a soft spot for Creed sometimes, but it’s not exactly like they disprove this statement.

Edit: huh, apparently they aren’t a Christian rock band. Could’ve fooled me.

Anecdote: I’m someone who almost always has been a quick showerer. Then I had some stuff happen that made me feel lonelier than I’d been in years. When taking an average shower (see: no forced deadline to make a bus/work on time/etc.), I did notice I was in there for much longer than previously (<10 min to 20-30 minutes).

Ain’t data but it was a pretty striking difference to observe.

What the HELL do you think you’re doing!?

(Also, here’s Arise! because I love it)

I remain convinced that these end of life hallucinations are the best frame for thinking about heaven and hell, rather than quasi-material spaces like they’re often discussed.

Remover of obstacles, patron of arts and sciences, lord of letters and learning, and chicks dig a prehensile nose. There’s definitely worse choices if you’re shopping for deities.

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As a young teen, I arranged irl meets with people from band guestbooks and friends-of-friends-of-friends from MSN pretty frequently.

Dumb, looking back, but all turned out to be who they said they were and good times were had. Would be super concerned if my kid did the same and he’s literally an adult now, so idk.

<3

I personally rank it slightly below Tabarnak, but it’s still an S-tier cuss. It does have the hissing sound going for it if you emphasize the end, which I quite like.

I only know enough French to start bar fights in Montreal, which gets awkward because the folks involved are generally better at bar fights than I am.

Regardless, I’m convinced there is nothing in this world more satisfying than a hearty “TabarNAK” at just the right moment. Fuck’s a great word, but there’s just something about those extra two syllables and the emphasis at the end that fills me with joy.

Output that made me want to check on this, if anyone is curious. Glowy glass plate with blacklight over a comic book image, then hit with the ‘Pastel’ style. Looks cool but very AI-esque.

checks own teenaged list and sees Beautiful by HIM and ‘that paradise song from Starship Troopers’

Fuck I feel old now.

I understand the history and impact of printed media. But let’s be honest - a book you’re buying in 2026 is generally not a rare tome with limited copies, with an artisan’s attention paid to its crafting as an object. It’s just another mass produced item, following a path that generally looks like ‘purchase -> use -> discard (whether that’s to another reader, a used book store, or a shredder)’. They can cycle for quite a while, sure, but eventually most books end up in a bin.

Given this, I personally feel a book is subject to the whim of its current owner, and that’s ok. Want to keep it in pristine condition with an eye to maximum amount of cycles before bin time? Can’t fault you for that. Want to take advantage of its physicality to make it more convenient for your use, like in this image? Fair play. Want to use that physical material for something more creative? Fuck yeah dude, go for it.

Where I pause a bit is just tossing it into a shredder once you don’t want it anymore. Does that logically follow from my approach here? Yeah, but it does seem like a waste compared to the other things you can do with it.

Edit: a question, actually. With all of this in mind, how do folks here feel about collage, blackout poetry, cut-up technique, etc.?