Welcome to my humble blog page, dear reader.
This page is my intrepid attempt at maintaining a stream of my coherent original thought. I should admit, ‘coherence’ is the aspiration, but is likely to be corroded by my juvenile ramblings. Regardless, I have been finding it increasingly important to write, in this world of commoditized creativity & instantaneous inspiration.
I love to write. I always have. I have a cute little sketchbook/journal that I like to maintain for my imaginative bursts, and I figured I’d take it up a notch and bring it to Substack for the world (my brother & the 3 people who accidentally stumbled upon this) to see.
Growing up, I was always a book kid, not a TV kid. My parents vehemently refused to sit me in front of the TV in my early years. I would devour books and stay glued to them to the degree that my storybooks would have to be confiscated from me, as an iPad would be confiscated from a child today.
I would read in school, at home and everywhere in between. I reckon my school’s staff room still has my copy of the Chronicles of Narnia impounded away somewhere, collecting dust. (I was caught red-handed reading it under my desk during a so-called self study period.)
I was jokingly referred to as dictionary by my peers during my school days on account of my enthusiasm for the language, debates and rhetoric. I also happened to win the Bangalore Spelling Bee in Grade 7. My spelling abilities have only declined since then, and today I find myself stuck rechecking basic words like ‘necessary’ or ‘commitment.’
I’m used to being the default scribe for my friends, to write emails, essays, projects or applications. It's a favour I enjoy extending, because I get to have fun playing with words. I got quick at whipping up a half-decent essay for people in minutes. The satisfaction of writing something decent with just the right rhythm to it is irreplaceable.
To my surprise, my occassional pro-bono work has not yet been completely replaced by Generative AI, because in most cases, anyone looking closely or concerned enough can discern AI-generated content from original writing.
Or at least that’s what I thought. Does it work the other way around too?
I started getting my formal writing flagged as AI generated. Sure, these AI detectors are often inaccurate - but it got me thinking: Was I starting to write with the same rhythm & word choices as ChatGPT? Have I consumed so much AI generated content that my output has become akin to synthetic AI generated content? Has my vocabulary and grammar been poisoned to the extent that I can only produce inorganic tapestries of recycled phrases?
I was disgusted by the proposition that I should fail to pass a Turing Test - I had become so corporate & MBA coded that my writing no longer had spice to it.
I’m starting this page to ensure that I keep this muscle fit and mind sharp. We have no shortage of mental shortcuts and creative crutches today - and I am already seeing terrifying signs of my spellcheck & AI-assisted gradual cognitive decline.
I have always been a storyteller looking for new creative outlets - and I intend to continue doing so. Let this be one of many.
I must exercise & build this muscle - my physiotherapy starts today.