This past semester, I did the unthinkable… I went back to school… for MATH!

cue gasp

This was the first time in almost 10 years that I had studied mathematics in a formal setting, and it was incredibly challenging! I had to refamiliarize myself with formulas and equations I hadn’t seen in ages. I needed to spend my evenings in a classroom rather than with my girlfriend and let’s not forget all of those dreaded tests.

While I was in the classroom getting my brain broken by relatively basic mathematics course, a company that everyone now knows is open AI was making and continuing to make more advanced chat models that do my homework in the blink of an eye.

As the course reached its climax and I suffered and struggled with matrix manipulation, I had to ask myself a question: why am I putting myself through this ChatGPT could do all of this for me? What’s the point?

My first gut reaction was simple and logical.

I want to obtain my master’s in data science, these are the foundational building blocks upon which that advanced knowledge is built and I need to really excel in these classes to get into a good school.

As I kept ruminating, another, deeper thread emerged.

I dont want to just get “an answer.”

If I just wanted “an answer,” I could save myself a lot of time, money, and heartache by using Google.

So what am I after then…?

I want to build robust quantitative mental frameworks that will allow me to quickly and rigorously evaluate “an answer” and prove that it was the best answer and fit the context of the original question.

When I first learned math, I would always take the first answer I got as gospel.

I took input, threw it haphazardly into the formula, and got my answer back. If you asked me any follow-up questions about the answer, I was lost. I continued to do it this way because it was easy and fast, and I didn’t have to expend any more mental effort than needed.

It’s been several years since those early math classes, and now I fully understand that while this approach can sometimes get you a correct answer, it is not the best, especially as technology continues to progress at a frightening pace.

As they say, a computer is only as smart as the person using it, and ChatGPT is no exception, especially as these large language models continue to sound more and more like us. If you’re not careful AI will fool you with a wrong answer it dressed up to sound like a right one.

Learning and thinking critically about math—or any subject—helps us develop the intuition and reasoning skills needed to evaluate the outputs of these advanced tools. By doing the hard work ourselves, we gain the ability to judge whether an answer is correct or makes sense in context. This way, we’re not just passively receiving answers; we’re actively engaging with the material, questioning it, and ultimately understanding it on a deeper level.

In the end, while ChatGPT can assist me with my math homework, the true value lies in my ability to understand and verify the answers. This ensures that I am not just learning to solve problems but also building a strong foundation of knowledge and critical thinking that will serve me for the rest of my life.

It’s this blend of human insight and technological assistance that will drive real progress. So, as we embrace these powerful tools, let’s not forget to cultivate our own minds—ensuring we are always the human in the room