Watching the Machine Watch Me

For some unknown reason, I thought it might be fun to create two independent conversations. One where I talked to ChatGPT about it. And another where I ask it about me.

Why?

I don’t know. Could be fun. Could be chaos. Could be hilariously wrong.

What I did not expect was to suddenly see my creative process mapped out with clarity in a way that was predictable. In a way, I could start to consciously wield. Because from the inside, the process is messy. I often start with no concept of where I am going. I let my curiosity guide me to interesting ideas and words I roll around like an otter with a beloved rock. It is play - fun and unpredictable.

If a stranger were to ask what I am doing, I couldn’t tell them. And if they asked why, I wouldn’t know. It is almost compulsive. A little tug. A little pull. Just a vague sense that something important is happening, and I don’t want to put it down. I play thought experiments across genres and fields of study. I wedge together cheese and acoustics just because I can.

Until a pun appears out of seemingly thin air.

It sparkles and glows and fills me with delight. In my laughter, I just start producing pun after pun. Making dad jokes and groaners. A pun bananza. A full-on. . . pun bloom.

ChatGPT called out the play to pun bloom process as a distinct and predictable phase of my creative output. But that isn’t where I stop. When I see something particularly delicious, I grab onto it and push into absurdity with rigor. Usually of the unnecessary variety.

What if cheese acted as a vibration damper? Next thing you know, I am calculating the mozzarelative frequency.

It is possible my brain is actually a circus run by gremlins.

After the absurd rigor, I dial it in with polish. That final step is how I make things distinctly mine. I play with rhythm, color, tone. Play turns to disciplined work. Craft I’ve been developing since childhood.

That is my creative rhythm. Play - Bloom - Rigor - Polish.

I found this insight carries indirectly across all of my creative work. Even at the office, I roll around a concept in my brain. Play with it, push, and pull like dough. Constantly poking at data for a morsel of truth. Until I see a glimmer of something new.

Once I saw this, I unlocked a newer level of awareness. I could recognize were in my creative cycle I was standing. And that gave me a freedom to choose. Is this a sparkle I chase and trap?

ChatGPT could see from the outside what was hidden from me on the inside. Watching the machine watch me helped me see myself in full bloom.

*Chart assisted by ChatGPT. Text is 100% human-made.