MIT studied the wrong thing (and so did everyone else)

You used to be a great cook.

You could make perfect pasta without a timer. You knew when the garlic was golden just by smell. You could taste a sauce and know exactly what it needed.

Your hands moved with confidence. Your taste buds were sharp. Your instincts were spot-on.

Then smart kitchen gadgets arrived.

Apps that told you when to flip the chicken. Devices that measured perfect portions. Timers that beeped at exactly the right moment.

At first, these tools helped. But slowly, something changed.

You stopped tasting as you cooked. You stopped trusting your nose. You stopped developing that deep sense of when something was just right.

Your kitchen got smarter. But did you?

Now imagine it's 3:17 AM. You're scrolling through your phone instead of sleeping.

A headline hits you like cold water: "MIT Study: ChatGPT Is Rotting Your Brain."

Your chest gets tight. That familiar anxiety creeps in. You've been using AI for everything lately.

Writing emails that used to take an hour. Drafting reports that once consumed entire afternoons. Brainstorming ideas your brain couldn't quite reach alone.

Your phone slips from your hands onto the bed.

The question haunts you: Have you been making yourself stupider?

You've traded your sharp thinking for instant answers.

Just like that cook who became so dependent on smart gadgets that they lost the ability to taste when something was perfectly seasoned.

You stare at the ceiling. Shadows dance in the streetlight.

Your mind races with uncomfortable thoughts:

Should you delete ChatGPT tomorrow? Have you become dependent on something that's slowly killing your ability to think?

The irony stings. You're lying awake at 3 AM, overthinking a study about not thinking enough.

Here's the question that keeps you awake: Have you automated away the very mental "tasting" that made your ideas flavorful?

Sound familiar?

The Study That's Got Everyone Panicking

The next morning, you dig deeper into the MIT research. You need to understand what you're dealing with.

Here's what the scientists actually did:

They gathered 54 college students in a lab. Strapped brain monitors to their heads. Made them write boring SAT essays.

One group used ChatGPT. Another used Google. The third wrote alone.

The results? The ChatGPT users showed the lowest brain activity. Their neural patterns looked lazy. Disengaged.

It's like studying cooks who only follow recipe apps versus those who taste and adjust as they go. Of course the app-followers show less "cooking engagement." They're not really cooking anymore.

They're just following instructions.

But here's the real problem with this study...

[The researchers missed something crucial...]

The Problem With This Study

Think about it this way: When was the last time you had to write an SAT essay at work?

When did your boss ask you to memorise every ingredient you used in a presentation?

The MIT researchers measured the wrong thing. They treated AI like it should be invisible. Like you should use it and pretend you didn't.

That's not how kitchen tools work. That's not how any tools work.

When you use a food processor, your hands don't engage the same way as chopping by hand. When you use a meat thermometer, you don't develop the same intuitive sense of doneness.

Does that make you a worse cook?

Or does it free your attention for bigger things like balancing flavours, creating new dishes, and perfecting your technique?

The researchers never tested this: What happens when you use AI like a sous chef instead of a replacement chef?

What The Study Actually Proves

The MIT study proves one thing perfectly:

If you let the smart gadget do all your thinking, you'll stop thinking.

No surprise there.

The students who just copied ChatGPT's essays showed lower brain activity. Of course they did. They weren't cooking. They were reheating.

It's like using a meal kit service and claiming you cooked dinner. Sure, you assembled it. But did you really develop any culinary skills?

But here's what the researchers never tested: What happens when you use AI to enhance your cooking instead of replace it?

That's the difference between being a chef and being a microwave operator.

[Most people are missing this completely...]

The Right Way vs The Wrong Way

Remember your cooking journey? There's a right way and a wrong way to use kitchen gadgets.

Wrong Way (What The Study Measured):

• Ask the app what to cook

• Follow every instruction blindly

• Never taste, never adjust

• The brain goes to sleep

Right Way (What Actually Works):

• Start with your own cooking instincts

• Use gadgets to time and measure precisely

• Taste everything and adjust

• Let tools handle the boring parts while you focus on flavour

See the difference?

The first approach makes you a worse cook. The second makes you a better one.

It's the same with AI. Use it like a smart timer, not like a replacement for your taste buds.

P.S. - Your brain on AI should feel more engaged, not less. If it doesn't, you're using it wrong.

The Real Danger Nobody's Talking About

The actual threat isn't brain rot. It's bad kitchen habits.

Most people are using AI like a magic cooking wand. They expect perfect results with zero effort. When that doesn't work, they blame the technology.

But AI isn't meant to replace your judgment. It's meant to amplify it.

Think of it like this: A food processor doesn't make you a worse cook.

But if you only use processed ingredients and never learn proper knife skills, you'll make bland food.

The solution isn't avoiding the processor. It's learning to use it properly.

You still need to taste. You still need to adjust. You still need to understand what makes food delicious.

The tool handles the mechanical work. You handle the art.

Your New AI Cooking Rules

Want to use AI without losing your mental taste buds? Follow these kitchen rules:

Rule 1: Start With Your Recipe. Think first. Use AI second. Never let the app plan your entire meal.

Rule 2: Stay, Head Chef AI suggests ingredients. You decide the final dish. Always.

Rule 3: Taste Everything Treat AI output like raw ingredients, not a finished meal.

Rule 4: Ask Better Questions Instead of "Cook my dinner," try "What are three ways I could improve this sauce?"

P.S. - The goal is to become a better chef, not a more efficient microwave operator.

💭 Which of these cooking rules do you struggle with most? Drop a comment below!

The MIT study isn't wrong. It's incomplete.

Yes, if you use AI mindlessly, you'll think less, just as if you only use meal kits, you'll cook less.

But if you use AI strategically, you'll think better. Faster. More creatively.

Like a chef who uses a food processor for prep work but still tastes, adjusts, and creates with their judgment.

The companies figuring this out first will serve better dishes while their competitors are still arguing about whether knives make you a worse cook.

The question isn't whether AI makes you dumber.

The question is: Are you using it to think less, or cook better?

Your brain isn't rotting. You're just using the wrong recipe. Fix the technique, fix the results.

Help me cook up better content!

This newsletter works best as a conversation.

Your replies, questions, and "aha moments" fuel everything I write.

- Struggling with an AI tool. Reply and let's figure it out together.

- Found a cool use case. Share it - I might feature it.

- Think I'm completely wrong about something. Tell me why.

New reader? 

Subscribe here to get more AI insights that actually make sense.

Thanks for reading, thinking, and engaging.