Okay, so there's some pretty striking research
coming out of MIT recently. It really makes you
stop and think about how we're using AI. Yeah,
it's landed with quite a thud, hasn't it? The
headline finding is, well, it suggests most people
just passively asking AI for answers. Yeah. They're
actually making themselves measurably less sharp.
Less sharp is putting it mildly. The sources
mentioned something like a 17 % drop in performance
on certain tests. Things like critical thinking,
remembering stuff. Exactly. A 17 % decline. It
sounds pretty alarming when you first hear it.
It really does. But the flip side, which is maybe
the more exciting part, is that the same research
showed something else. If you use AI intentionally.
like really engage with it. Like a thinking partner,
not just an answer machine. Precisely. Then it
can actually double your learning speed and boost
your creative performance too. And that's really
what we want to dive into today. We've been digging
through the source material and it outlines these
three really practical workflows, ways to turn
AI from that cognitive crutch. Into more of an
intellectual amplifier. Yeah. We'll be looking
at specific tools mentioned like Notebook LM
and Gemini 2 .5. That's the plan. Yeah. We're
going to map out how you can consciously build
what the sources are calling an AI augmented
mind. So three core ideas we'll unpack. First,
designing a really structured mental workout.
Second, how you can build your own kind of polymath
portfolio for learning. And third, creating active
memory systems. So the stuff you learn actually
sticks permanently. Okay, let's start with that
first bit, the cognitive crisis. Why the drop
off? The sources really flag this trend of, well,
intellectual dependency from just passively using
AI. It's what they're calling cognitive outsourcing,
right? You just you let the AI do the thinking,
give you the answer ready, mate. And you bypass
all the mental heavy lifting you need to do to
actually solve the problem yourself. The scary
part is the physical impact. Neural pathway degradation.
That sounds serious. It is. I mean, if you stop
using those brain circuits for complex thought,
they literally get weaker, like a muscle you
don't exercise. So your mental flexibility tanks.
Your ability to handle new unexpected problems
just diminishes. Yeah, and your memory formation
takes a hit too because you weren't wrestling
with the information in the first place. You
just passively received it. It's not just about
forgetting things. It's about losing the ability
to process new things effectively. Which brings
us to the solution. Shifting to active engagement.
Using AI deliberately to challenge yourself,
test your understanding, and actually strengthen
those cognitive skills. The goal set by the research
is pretty ambitious, outperforming 91 % of people
in creativity tests. That's the benchmark. It
shows what's possible with the right approach.
Active challenge versus passive consumption.
That's the core difference. Okay, so if AI can
just give us the answers, what's the single biggest
danger if we completely outsource our thinking
like that? You weaken your brain's built -in
ability to spot patterns and tackle totally new
problems. Right, losing that fundamental pattern
recognition. Okay, so how do we fight back? That
takes us to workflow one, the mental workout.
Exactly. The brain's like a muscle, needs a proper
workout. This workflow uses Gemini 2 .5 to basically
design a personalized mental gem for you. A gem?
What's that exactly? So according to the sources,
a gem is just a custom set of instructions you
lock into the AI. Think of it like pre -programming
it for a specific task. Ah, okay. So you create
this gem to run a repeatable, focused, cognitive
training session tailored just for you. You got
it. Like a digital personal trainer for your
mind. And it's not just general knowledge quizzes,
is it? It targets specific areas. Six key areas,
actually. Memory systems, creative processing,
logical reasoning, pattern recognition, verbal
fluency, and mental flexibility. You need to
train across the board. For that kind of anti
-fragile intelligence they talk about, makes
sense. So how do you set it up? It starts with
crafting what they call a master prompt. Really
detailed instructions defining all the activities
for your workout. And then you plug that into
Gemini's custom feature, lock it in as your mental...
workout, Jim. Yep. And critically, it's systematic.
The sources suggest a rotational schedule. Day
one, you focus on memory skills. Day two, maybe
creativity. Day three, logic, and so on. Structure
is key. Warm up, core training, cool down for
reflection. Right. And here's where it gets kind
of neat for pushing yourself. Adding an intensity
scaling system. Intensity scaling. So you tell
the AI how hard to make it. Yeah, like a difficulty
level from 1 to 10. Level 10 might mean super
complex problems with really tight time limits.
No hand holding. And then there's level 11, ultra
extreme. Ultra extreme, maximum difficulty, maybe
surprise constraints thrown in, forcing you to
blend different skills on the fly. Wow, that
sounds intense. It is. And honestly, getting
those constraints right in the prompt can be
tricky. I still wrestle with prompt drift myself
sometimes, you know, making sure the AI actually
sticks to the hard rules you set. Ah, the vulnerable
admission. Yeah, defining those boundaries precisely.
It's a skill in itself. It really is. But that
constant push preventing stagnation, that's the
whole point of the scaling. Okay, so beyond just
having the custom instructions, how does adding
that intensity scaling system really boost cognitive
growth? It forces you to constantly adapt and
make sure the exercises stay hard enough to actually
strengthen your mind. Pro prevents plateauing.
Keeps the challenge real. Got it. Let's shift
gears then. Workflow 2. Creating a polymath portfolio.
Yeah, this one's really cool. Inspired by people
like, you know, Leonardo da Vinci. His genius
wasn't just in one field. It was connecting ideas
across different fields. Art, anatomy, engineering.
Seeing links others missed. So how do we do that
today? Minus the Renaissance genius part. Well...
The sources lay out a modern framework. Distribute
your learning. 60 % in your main field, your
primary domain. Okay. 60 % focus. Then 30 % in
adjacent areas. Things that naturally complement
your main expertise. Right. So if my main thing
is a visual art, adjacent might be photography
or graphic design. Stuff that fits closely. Exactly.
But the really interesting part is the last 10%.
The wildcards. Wildcards. So completely unrelated
stuff. Totally unrelated. For that visual artist
example, maybe. Mycology. Studying fungi. Or
the neuroscience of how we perceive visuals.
Mycology. Okay, that is a wild card. Why deliberately
learn things that seem irrelevant? Because that's
often where the biggest breakthroughs hide. Those
seemingly unrelated fields offer completely fresh
perspectives. They spark connections. Your competitors,
stuck in their own silos, will never see. And
Notebook LM comes in here as the tool to manage
this? Precisely. It acts like your research assistant.
You feed it all your diverse source materials,
articles, notes, PDFs from your primary, adjacent,
and wildcard areas. And then it helps you connect
the dots. Yeah. You can use its features to find
those links. The source material mentions using
its discover feature or prompting it with something
specific like identify surprising connection
points between these fields. That's powerful.
Finding hidden links across different domains
automatically. Whoa. Imagine scaling that. Cross
-referencing like a billion queries worth of
research almost instantly. That's... mind -bending.
It really accelerates that polymath potential,
doesn't it? Making those complex links visible,
maybe even mapping them out. Okay, so that 10
% wildcard allocation, why is that often where
the most groundbreaking ideas come from? Because
those unrelated fields give you the most novel
angles, sparking truly unique, unexpected insights.
Makes sense. Novel perspectives drive innovation.
Okay, let's take a quick break. Sponsor. And
we're back. Before the break, we were talking
about how that 10 % wildcard learning can spark
major breakthroughs. But finding insights is
one thing. Making them stick is another. Right.
Which brings us squarely into workflow three,
active memory systems. We all know that feeling
you read something interesting and poof, it's
gone by tomorrow. The memory trap. Passive consumption
equals poor retention. Classic problem. Information
in one ear, out the other. So the fix, according
to the sources, generating active learning materials,
using AI again, maybe Notebook LM, to help. Exactly.
Instead of just reading or highlighting, you
get the AI to create things for you that force
you to engage. Think flashcards, but more advanced.
Or tricky quiz questions. Or even complex case
studies that make you pull together ideas from
those different domains you're studying. Integrating
concepts, not just recalling facts. And then
you use something like Anki. Yes. Anki is fantastic
for this. It's free, powerful software based
on spaced repetition. Spaced repetition. That's
the thing where it shows you information right
before you'd normally forget it. That's the one.
It dramatically increases how long you remember
things. It's like fundamental for locking knowledge
in permanently. So you take the flashcards or
quizzes the AI generated. And you import them
directly into custom decks in Anki. The AI handles
the boring part. creating the studying materials
so you can focus on the active recall. Nice.
Automating the grunt work. The sources also mention
for the more technical folks potentially automating
a whole thing. Yeah, briefly. Using AI coding
assistants like Cloud Code or similar tools to
maybe process your notebook LM notes, format
everything perfectly for Anki, and even handle
the import via an API. Okay, that's definitely
next level. But the core principle is accessible,
right? Turn passive sources into active challenges.
Absolutely. That's the key takeaway. So when
we're aiming for that permanent knowledge, why
is actually generating these quizzes or case
studies yourself or having the AI do it for you
to use so crucial? Because it forces your brain
to actively engage and process the material,
not just skim over it passively. It makes you
wrestle with it. Okay. So we've got the workout,
the synthesis across fields, the memory system.
How do you manage all this? The sources mentioned
a framework. Yeah. Code EA. It stands for Capture,
Organize, Distill, Express. It's a way to...
Structure your second brain, basically. Maybe
using a tool -like notion to house it all. Capture,
organize, distill, express. And the most critical
step they highlighted was... Distill. That's
where you really transform raw notes into usable
knowledge. Finding those cross -references between
your polymath readings, spotting patterns, making
sense of it all. Synthesizing everything. Got
it. And for really pushing the cognitive training
further, there were some advanced techniques
mentioned, too, like reverse prompting. Oh, this
one's fascinating. You essentially program the
AI, maybe using custom instructions in Gemini
again, so it only asks you questions. The AI
asks me questions. Yep. It acts like a Socratic
guide. It won't give you answers. You have to
provide the answers, defend your reasoning, justify
your claims. It forces you to do the heavy cognitive
lifting. Whoa. Okay. I like that. Flipping the
script. And constraint mode training. Another
good one. You impose artificial limits to force
creative thinking. Ask the AI to make you explain
something complex, but explain quantum physics
in exactly 55 seconds. Or explain the CODA framework
using only baking metaphors. Exactly. Those constraints
force your brain to find totally new ways to
connect ideas, build new pathways. It's like
turning the AI into your personal Socrates, constantly
poking at your assumptions, demanding evidence,
looking for contradictions. Keeps you sharp.
keeps the learning dynamic not static. OK, looking
at all these advanced methods, reverse prompting,
constraint mode, the Socratic approach, what's
the ultimate benefit of making the AI ask us
the questions instead of the other way around?
It shifts the cognitive load squarely back onto
your shoulders. It strengthens your ability to
reason, to think critically and independently.
OK, let's pull this all together. The big idea.
We've basically outlined three core workflows
to shift from being a passive AI user to an active
partner. Right. One. That structured mental workout
with Gemini 2 .5, training specific cognitive
skills. Two, building the polymath portfolio
with Notebook LM, seeking those breakthroughs
in the 10 % wildcard zone. And three, creating
active memory systems using AI -generated materials
with Anki for knowledge that actually lasts.
And the MIT data frames the choice. Pretty starkly,
doesn't it? Either risk that cognitive decline
through passive use. Or actively partner with
AI to potentially double your learning speed
and creative power. Join that more elite group.
This active approach builds what the sources
called anti -fragile intelligence, meaning your
cognitive abilities actually get stronger when
you face stress or new challenges. Yeah, more
adaptable, more resilient. And these workflows
really target those high -value human skills.
AI struggles with, like deep creative synthesis,
nuanced ethical reasoning, complex strategic
thinking. Skills that matter. So for listeners
wanting to start, the source materials apparently
have a 30 -day transformation roadmap. They do.
The suggestion is basically... Set up your first
Gemini workout gem and your basic Cody structure,
maybe in Notion this week. Then start integrating
Anki and maybe experiment with those advanced
prompting techniques in the following weeks.
And the final piece of advice, which I think
is crucial. You can't improve what you don't
measure. Right. Start tracking some key metrics.
Things like, how fast are you actually learning
new concepts? How many novel creative connections
are you making per week? Tracking that stuff
shows if you're genuinely moving beyond that
potential 17 % decline and into growth territory.
It's about intentionality. Your transformation
starts when you decide to actively engage. Couldn't
have said it better myself. Out to your own music.