Building a better idiot part 2

A couple of years ago I wrote a piece on trying to find the source of the ‘make it idiot-proof and the world/universe will build a better idiot’ style of quote (here). This was - I thought - from a Robert Anson Heinlein book - which went something along the lines of "make a system idiot proof and the world will build a better idiot". I couldn't find anything in Heinlein, finding instead a quote in Cook (1990). This didn't feel right, as this saying was steeped in family lore and we had all well-left home by 1990... and none of us had read Cook's book.

So, as I had some energy, I would do a little more searching, deciding as I went along that seeking synonyms for idiot-proof may help. I hit a bit of pay-dirt with 'foolproof', finding a few earlier quotes, as follows (and in reverse chronological order):

• 1988: "There's no system foolproof enough to defeat a sufficiently great fool" (Davis, 1988, p. 46, 48, citing Teller). While I have found this widely as an 'inspirational' quote attributed to Teller, I have not yet found this actual phrase in any of Teller's writings thus far.
• 1979: "Anyone who imagines he has found a foolproof system is apt to learn that the fool is bigger than the proof" (Teller, 1979, p. 171). We have the man himself writing particular version. It is not quite as Davis (1988) has it, but reasonably close; and while we are not building a bigger fool, we do have size and the system both present. To me, this feels similar enough to "if we make something idiot-proof, we will build a better idiot" to be the source.

In addition, I found a slightly different version of the first Teller quote:

• 1982: "Having observed the evolution of nuclear technology, Edward Teller has commented: '...so far we have been extremely lucky... But with the great number of simians monkeying around with things they do not completely understand, sooner or later the fool will prove greater than the proof, even in a fool-proof system'" (Adler & Singer, 1982, p. 1412). Once again, this is not Teller saying this first-hand; it is a secondary source.
• 1976: and an earlier version almost identical to the first: "Edward Teller, father of the hydrogen bomb, believes that 'so far we have been extremely lucky... But with the great number of simians monkeying around with things that they do not completely understand, sooner or later a fool will prove greater than the proof even in a fool-proof system" (Hayes, 1976, p. 32). Again, a second-hand source.
• However, I have not been able to find this quote from Teller himself, which must be earlier than 1976.

Confusingly, I may have found another, similar version from a UK source: 

• 1984/1937: in the text, the author says: "As an experienced observer of the American scene, [Sir Ronald Charles] Lindsay knew what he was talking about and no remark was more accurate than that which he offered to the Foreign Secretary in March 1937 to the effect that Anglo-American relations were fool-proof and were only in danger when attempts were made to improve them" (Murfett, 1984, p. 25) and in the front matter, with the appearance of a quote, as "Anglo-American relations were fool-proof and only in danger when attempts were made to improve them" (p. xv, citing Sir Ronald Charles Lindsay to the Foreign Office, 22 Mar 1937). 
• As a result, it is unclear if this is Murfett's 1984 wording, or the original phrasing of Lindsay in 1937. There may be documentary proof, as a document number is supplied by Murfett (1984, p. xv): “Lindsay to Foreign Office, 22 Mar 1937, No. 247, A2378/38/45, FO 371/20651” in the book. However, am uncertain how I would get to view this. 

So currently I am not sure if (a) Lindsay owns the primary phrase and all others have built on it; or (b) the Teller is a parallel primary source and creates pre-1976 "simian" quote, the Teller 1979 "fool is bigger" quote is his smoothing of his own idea, with Davis morphing it into the short form in 1988, that in 1990 is formalised by and attributed to Cook; or (c) Teller has read/heard Lindsay and regurgitates it, followed by Davis and Cook; or (d) if Murfett in 1984 had previously read/heard Teller, and echoed this phrasing when writing about Lindsay's stance in 1937.

Isn't it fascinating just how deep down the rabbit hole we can go, looking for answers?!

Sam

References:

Adler, E., & Singer, R. (1982). Political Action Needed against Nuclear Escalation [Letters to the Editor]. American Journal of Public Health, 72(12), 1412. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.72.12.1412-a

Cook, R. (1990). The Wizardry Compiled. Baen Books.

Davis, J. (1988). Nuclear Reactions. Omni, 10(8), 40-48, 118.

Hayes, D. (1976). Nuclear Power: The fifth horseman [Worldwatch Paper 6]. The Worldwatch Institute.

Murfett, M. H. (1984). Fool-proof Relations: The search for Anglo-American naval cooperation during the Chamberlain years 1937-1940. Singapore University Press.

Teller, E. (1979). Energy from Heaven and Earth: In which a story is told about energy from its origins 15,000,000,000 years ago to its present adolescence. W. H. Freeman & Company.

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Why are Apprenticeships the 'poor relation'?

How did Apprenticeships become the poor relation of the qualifications field? 

Am I right in saying that they are? I think so: apprenticeships are considered a 'lesser' option by students, parents and educators. It has a "problem of esteem", where trades lack social status (Maurice-Takerei, 2025, p. 37). In Aotearoa New Zealand we have a history of resistance to, and fragmentary approaches to trades training and apprenticeship programmes, appears to have resulted in our vocational education lacking "a reliable place to sit" (Chan, 2020; Maurice-Takerei, 2025, p. 39). It lacks cohesion: as a nation we have shown we don't value it, and - as a result - we don't value it. We import tradespeople when we can't train enough (Maurice-Takerei, 2025). But we are also a nation of small businesses, where few organisations can afford to train apprentices. As a result, trades training is "seen as an option for students deemed less capable of succeeding in academic environments" (p. 39). Ouch. 

Whereas doing a degree is more than gaining a qualification: it is about "signalling", about creating personal advantage, and about building "reputational capital" from the conferring university. A degree provides "social networks and contacts" (Strathdee & Cooper, 2017, p. 374) which we obtain by attending and help us to access opportunities through in-group, insider knowledge (Strathdee & Cooper, 2017). A degree opens doors: regardless what our degree is in, it shows an employer that we can handle adversity and complete a body of challenging work over a number of years; we have a proven ability to think critically (Van Damme & Zahner, 2022). It shows our endurance and tenacity (Marshall, 2024). And it makes it easier for employers to understand the skills we must possess via "the proxy of the qualification" (Marshall, 2024, p. 591). 

In the past, professions that a degree takes us into were considered stable and "white-collar [... such as] accountancy and law" (Chan, 2020, p. 169)... and "durable". We were unlikely to be at risk of automation or AI. However, I think most of us know that was naive, as while many of the professions may as yet be "too difficult and costly to automate or to digitise", opinions are increasingly replicable by AI (p. 169). Automation cannot yet match "the complex range of environments [, ...and] the manual dexterity [...] required to accomplish many technical tasks" in fields such as plumbing or gas fitting (p. 169). Yet. 

Maurice-Takerei outlines some distasteful cultural antecedents shaped by our colonial history, which seems likely to have encouraged our lack of esteem for tradespeople; where learning a trade "is inferior to an academic education" (2025, p. 39). Further, decreasing global birthrates (Shaw, 2025) mean our ability to import those trades we need is looking decidedly rocky. 

We need to effect a cultural change in Aotearoa New Zealand where trades are valued, promoted, recruited for, and supported: before we run out of crafts people able to do this mahi.

Sam

References:

Chan, S. (2020). Identity, Pedagogy and Technology-enhanced Learning: Supporting the Processes of Becoming a Tradesperson. Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Maurice-Takerei, L. (2025). Change and Persistence: The Legacies for VET in Aotearoa, New Zealand. International Journal of Vocational Education Studies, 2(2), 35-51. https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839473627-03

Marshall, S. (2024). Chapter 30: Future higher education in New Zealand: creating a universal learning community for future skills. In U.-D. Ehlers, L. Eigbrecht (Eds.), Creating the University of the Future: A global view on future skills and future higher education (pp. 589-611). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH.

Shaw, S. J. (Writer, Director, Producer). (2025, September 19). Birthgap [documentary film, Torch Pictures]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/m2GeVG0XYTc

Strathdee, R., & Cooper, G. (2017). Ethnicity, vocational education and training and the competition for advancement through education in New Zealand. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 69(3), 371-389. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2017.1300595

Van Damme, D., & Zahner, D. (Ed.). (2022). Does Higher Education Teach Students to Think Critically?. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/cc9fa6aa-en

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Search and AI brain rot

A recent post was about some research on the lack of brain activity when using AI tools (here; Kosmyna et al., 2025; McBain, 2025). What I also found some interesting user comments generated by the article (McBain, 2025). One, by a tutor/teacher, said that "that Googling an answer does provide knowledge [...as] long as the answer provided is the correct one" (commenter "bettycallmeal", McBain, 2025). While I would suggest that bettycallmeal may have meant 'information', rather than "knowledge", I understood the gap she was seeking to bridge for her students between search and the necessary injection of critical thinking to sift the grain from the dross.

One search solution I use is to avoid Google as much as I can, part of Alphabet's empire. I avoid Google - and Chrome - most of the time because of Alphabet's profit motive. Google is a business, collecting my cookies to track my online movements, feeding me ads designed to get me to buy, and selling my search data, and skewing my search results towards its clients, and to previous user search results in my area. It is now what they 'do'. I am not annoyed at a business being true to its nature, but I do not like constantly being marketed to/at. 

Instead, I sought out a search engine which had privacy at its core, and went with DuckDuckGo. DuckDuckGo aims "to protect the privacy of its users", and returns "the same search results for a specific keyword, without filtering those search results and personalizing them based on the [user's] history [to] the user" (Tyrsina, 2025). While I get fewer search results, often - not always though - those results are more accurate. Additionally, I use the Brave browser which while built on the Chrome platform, still slashes tracking cookies and advertising on my PC. On my mobile I use DuckDuckGo and Adblock browser. Those tools might also help bettycallsmeal's students.

But the problem is probably larger than just where we search. Another commenter (commenter "hureharehure", McBain, 2025) replied to bettycallmeal that another complication was that "the internet [...] is eating itself" - a timely reminder of the oroboros! - due to "much of the internet [now being full of] AI slop". It appears that many media platforms allow unreliable AI generated material to proliferate (read more here). Commenter hureharehure had found users to be "quite incurious about whether the information they seek is at all reliable" and pointed bettycallmeal to the following resources to assist her students (McBain, 2025):

• Users seeing the "AI-generated summary on Google search are significantly less likely to click on external links than users who don't" (commenter "hureharehure", McBain, 2025), with only 1% of users clicking on AI summary links (Chapekis & Lieb, 2025). Since Google’s AI Overviews launched in May 2024, 69% of Google news searches have users not clicking on any links, up from 56% (Barenholtz, 2025; commenter "hureharehure", McBain, 2025). So why is that, then?
• Well, because it appears that Google's AI summaries are giving people just enough information so they don't need to know more (Jaźwińska, 2025). Though I must confess, if I get a news article summary and it is on a platform I am subscribed to, I won't click through on a Google News link: I will go straight to the platform so it lowers the platform's Google bill
• Apparently nearly a billion people already use ChatGPT (The Economist, 2025); we are not talking all the other LLM platforms through, such as Deepseek, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity, and SciSpace for language work; Reclaim and SkedPal for planning; Midjourney, Dall-E, Firefly and Deep for images; Veo, Runway, Sora and Synthesia for video; Asana for calendar work (Karkar, 2025)
• Read an exploration of the "dead internet theory" (Prada, 2025) and a summary of platform slop, advertising and AI hallucination (Goodfriend, 2025; Koebler, 2025)
• Get a review of the forthcoming book by Cory Doctorow on internet 'enshittification' (Skopic, 2025)

These are things we should be telling our students, so they realise that any search is not necessarily a 'good' search. It may be a skewed search: for example, Google/Gemini AI search and summaries are likely to be skewed based on location search history, our national laws, local businesses who have Google Ad Words, and the data that has been fed into Gemini (Gleason et al., 2023). 

If our students are not using their critical thinking skills but accepting what search has delivered up to them, then "Houston, we have a problem" (Howard & Graze, 1995, 50:52): and the research appears to already be showing that problem. Our less critical thinkers seem to be already experiencing brain rot (Karunaratne & Adesina, 2023; Kosmyna et al., 2025; McBain, 2025). 

To me, more AI use seems unlikely to improve critical thinking skills, but to reduce them. And that is a serious problem. 

Sam

References:

Barenholtz, L. (2025, March 12). Google AI Overviews: SEO Tips and Strategies. Similar Web. https://www.similarweb.com/blog/marketing/seo/ai-overviews/

Chapekis, A., & Lieb, A. (2025, July 22). Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/22/google-users-are-less-likely-to-click-on-links-when-an-ai-summary-appears-in-the-results/

Gleason, J., Hu, D., Robertson, R. E., & Wilson, C. (2023, June). Google the gatekeeper: How search components affect clicks and attention. In Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (Vol. 17, pp. 245-256). https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/ICWSM/article/download/22142/21921

Goodfriend, D. (2025, July 10). Deadly Slop: Artificial intelligence on the battlefield. The Baffler. https://thebaffler.com/latest/deadly-slop-goodfriend

Howard, R. (Director), & Grazer, B. (Producer). (1995). Apollo 13 [motion picture]. Universal Studios.

Karkar, J. (2025, August 21). 29 Top AI Platforms to Look Out for in 2025. TestGrid. https://testgrid.io/blog/top-ai-platforms/

Karunaratne, T., & Adesina, A. (2023, October). Is it the new Google: Impact of ChatGPT on students’ information search habits. In Proceedings of the 22nd European Conference on e-Learning, ECEL (pp. 147-155). https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Thashmee-Karunaratne/publication/374911381_Is_it_the_new_Google_Impact_of_ChatGPT_on_Students%27_Information_Search_Habits/links/6589f3110bb2c7472b0fc0d8/Is-it-the-new-Google-Impact-of-ChatGPT-on-Students-Information-Search-Habits.pdf

Jaźwińska, K. (2025, July 31). Traffic Apocalypse: Google’s AI Overviews are killing click-throughs to news sites. Colombia Journalism Review. https://www.cjr.org/analysis/traffic-apocalypse-google-ai-overviews-killing-click-throughs-news-sites.php

Koebler, J. (2025, July 15). The Hyperpersonalized AI Slop Silo Machine Is Here. 404 Media. https://www.404media.co/the-ai-slop-niche-machine-is-here/

Kosmyna, N., Hauptmann, E., Yuan, Y. T., Situ, J., Liao, X. H., Beresnitzky, A. V., ... & Maes, P. (2025). Your brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of cognitive debt when using an AI assistant for essay writing task. arXiv. Advance online publication. https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872

McBain, S. (2025, October 18). Are we living in a golden age of stupidity?. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/18/are-we-living-in-a-golden-age-of-stupidity-technology

Prada, L. (2025, September 15). One-Third of the Internet Is Just Bots Now. Seriously. VICE. https://www.vice.com/en/article/yep-one-third-of-the-internet-is-just-bots-now/?

Skopic, A. (2025, August 22). Why the Internet is Turning to Shit. Current Affairs. https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/why-the-internet-is-turning-to-shit

The Economist. (2025, July 14). AI is killing the web. Can anything save it?.  https://www.economist.com/business/2025/07/14/ai-is-killing-the-web-can-anything-save-it

Tyrsina, R. (2025, October 10). What is DuckDuckGo and what are the benefits of using it?. Digital Citizen. https://www.digitalcitizen.life/what-is-duckduckgo/

Wylie, C. (2019). Mindf* ck: Inside Cambridge Analytica’s plot to break the world. Profile Books.

Wynn-Williams, S. (2025). Careless People: A cautionary tale of power, greed, and lost idealism. Flatiron Books.

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Some Heinlein quotes part 1

In my search for the - potentially - Robert Heinlein ‘make it idiot-proof and the world/universe will build a better idiot’-style quote (which you can read more about here), I found a number of other quotes by the same author that I had always enjoyed. As I was trying to find the actual source of the main quote, it was relatively easy to record and keep track of them.

These particular quotes became part of our family language, being regularly used in our family for years because we all read these books. They form part of our shared history. 

Those favourites are:

• “I was just pulling your leg and it came off in my hand” (Heinlein, 1967, p. 416; first published in 1941)
  
  
• "Oh, 'tanstaafl.' Means "There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch." And isn’t,' I added, pointing to a FREE LUNCH sign across room, 'or these drinks would cost half as much. Was reminding her [Tish, a street-kid] that anything free costs twice as much in long run or turns out worthless" (Heinlein, 1966, p. 164), though Heinlein was drawing on Morrow (1938, p. 2)
  
  
• "You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity" (Heinlein, 1967, p. 414). This, published originally in 1941, is one of the earliest known variants of an idea which has become known as Hanlon's razor. The next iteration of this was: "one of the hardest things to believe is the abysmal depth of human stupidity” (Heinlein, 1953, p. 46), followed by, in 1973, the later version: "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity" (Heinlein, 1981b, p. 43), which is our favourite. Read more about Hanlon's razor here
  
  
• "Rod... were you born that stupid? Or did you have to study?" (Heinlein, 1955, p. 110) 
  
  
• "There is no such thing as luck; there is only adequate or inadequate preparation to cope with a statistical universe" (Heinlein, 1958, p. 16)
  
  
• "To be sure, some humans were always doing silly things — but at what point had prime damfoolishness become commonplace? When, for example, had the zombie-like professional models become accepted ideals of American womanhood?" (Heinlein, 1959, p. 20) 
  
  
• "Deety, never monkey with a system that is working well enough — first corollary of Murphy’s Law" (Heinlein, 1980, p. 187). 
  
  
• "Zeb tended to plan ahead — ‘Outwitting Murphy’s Law,’ he called it, ‘ “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” ’ (Grandma called it “The Butter-Side Down Rule’.)" (Heinlein, 1980, p. 70) 
  
  
• Joel, the lead character, says "'Webb? Wrote a book listing forty-nine possible solutions to Fermi's Paradox—and demolished them one by one, leaving only the fiftieth solution, namely: we're alone?'
  "He [Matty] looked as if he'd chased his lemon with milk. 'Webb was an idiot. His analysis presumed that if other life did exist, it could not be more intelligent than him. It was the characteristic flaw of the entire PreCollapse millennium: the assumption of vastly more knowledge than they actually possessed'." Heinlein & Robinson, 2006, p. 194)
  
  
• And we are a family of compulsive readers, so this had resonance for us: "But I didn’t go to sleep. The truth is, I’ve got a monkey on my back, a habit worse than marijuana though not as expensive as heroin. I can stiff it out and get to sleep anyway [... . But t]he fact is I am a compulsive reader. Thirty-five cents’ worth of Gold Medal Original will put me right to sleep. Or Perry Mason. But I’ll read the ads in an old Paris-Match that has been used to wrap herring before I’ll do without" (Heinlein, 1981a, p. 59)

The power of our human stupidity still reigns supreme. But thank goodness for the word smiths out there that can keep holding the mirror up to us, so we can see ourselves :-)

There will likely be an update on this at some point in the future.

Sam

References:

Heinlein, R. A. (1953). Gulf [1949]. In Assignment in Eternity (pp. 7-67). The New American Library.

Heinlein, R. A. (1955). Tunnel in the Sky. Charles Scribner's Sons.

Heinlein, R. A. (1959). The Year of the Jackpot [1947]. In The Menace from Earth (pp. 7-38). New American Library.

Heinlein, R. A. (1966). The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. G. P. Putnam's Sons.

Heinlein, R. A. (1967). Logic of Empire [1941]. In The Past Through Tomorrow (Vols 1 & 2, pp. 375-422). Berkley Medallion Books (G. P. Putnam's Sons).

Heinlein, R. A. (1977). Have Space Suit, Will Travel (first printing 1958). The Ballantine Publishing Group.

Heinlein, R. A. (1980). The Number of the Beast. NEL (New English Library) Paperback.

Heinlein, R. A. (1981a). Glory Road (first edition 1963). New English Library.

Heinlein, R. A. (1981b). Time Enough for Love: The lives of Lazarus Long (first edition 1974). Berkley Books.

Heinlein, R. A., & Robinson, S. (2006). Variable Star. Tor Books.

Morrow, W. (1938, June 26). Magazine section: Economics in Eight Words. The Oklahoma News, p. 2, column 4.

read more "Some Heinlein quotes part 1"

Tattoos and the sea

I was listening to an old audiobook by Simon Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches (1987), a range of essays linking Dutch narratives, artefacts and culture with an emerging idea of Netherlands nationhood. The book was exploring the South Pacific explorations of the Dutch, with the indigenous people which Dutch seafarers were encountering being "horribly tattooed savages" (p. 28), when I started wondering how and why sailors had become culturally affiliated to tattooing.

When I had time, I decided, I would do a little bit of digging to gain a layperson's idea of how skin ink had transferred from those "savages" to those who work at sea.

The term we use for tattoo today arose from Polynesian tatau meaning "the markings" (Simpson & Weiner, 1989) apparently common across Tahitian, Samoan, Tongan cultures; but in the case of the Marquesas as 'tatu'. It was "recorded from Tahiti as tataou in Bougainville’s Voyage autour du Monde 1766-9 [...] and as tattow in Capt. Cook’s First Voyage July 1769 [with the note that the Eng.] tattoo and F. tatou are perversions of the native name" (p. 666). Apparently Cook noted in the ships journal of his first voyage in 1769 that "Both sexes paint their Bodys, Tattow, as it is called in their Language. This is done by inlaying the Colour of Black under their skins, in such a manner as to be indelible". It seems likely that tattooing travelled out across the Pacific with the waves of migration from China/Taiwan (Evans, 2011).

What I was quite surprised at was how long the idea of permanently marking the skin had been around and where it had arisen. An authority on the history of tattooing, Caplan (2000) explained that, as "one of many forms of irreversible body alteration, including scarification, cicatrization, piercing and branding, [tattooing] is the probably the oldest and most widespread" (p. xi). Apparently "cicatrization" is a more natural scarring process, as opposed to deliberate scarification. So who was tattooed? The "Greeks, Romans and Celts [... mark criminals and slaves"; the "early Christians in Roman territories"; "Christians in the Holy Land, Egypt and the Balkans"; "chastisement [in...] medieval Christendom"; the Picts in northern Britain (Caplan, 2000, pp. xvi-xvii).

It seems at the same time these practices were arising in Asia and the Pacific (Evans, 2011), there was "convict tattooing in Europe, its colonies and Russia", [so while t]he European practice of tattooing [...] did not originate in the Pacific", European nation attitudes to tattooing were changed by what was found in the Pacific, North and South America, Japan, India and the Philippines (Caplan, 2000, p. xvi; Kroupa, 2023). "European sailors had certainly already known and practised tattooing as a result of their relations with other cultures in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries" (Caplan, 2000, p. xvii).

But why sailors? One hypothesis is that tattoos allowed sailors to "avoid colonial exploitation and the slave trade" (more particularly if seafarers were of African origin). Being tattooed created differentiation in what was a "disposable labor" market (Crutcher, 2023, p. 1), where lives were "one of hard work, low pay, grueling physical labor, and little [self] ownership" (p. 3). Where life was that hard at sea, perhaps the wayfaring skill of the Polynesian navigator made tattooing more aspirational; it became a in-trade cultural marker. Tattoos were a visible marker of "the cultural and social identity" of the searfarer (p. 3). And the Polynesian navigators of the Pacific were amazing sailors: not coastal hopping, but crossing broad stretches of a vast ocean largely unknown and unknowable to Europeans; but the stars, by bird and fish migrations, by the clouds, and by the winds.

So to come back to Simon Schama: the amazing seafarers encountered by early European sailors in the Pacific were "tattooed"; but not 'horrible', nor savages. Just different. But definitely tattooed.

Sam

References:

Caplan, J. (Ed.). (2000). Written on the Body: The tattoo in European and American history. Princeton University Press.

Crutcher, M. (2023). Jack Tar’s ink: a comparative analysis of Euro-American and West African sailors’ tattoos during the eighteenth to twentieth centuries. Maritime Studies, 22(1), 3-x. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-022-00291-0

Evans, J. (2011). Polynesian navigation and the discovery of New Zealand. Oratia Media Ltd.

Kroupa, S. (2022). Reading beneath the Skin: Indigenous Tattooing in the Early Spanish Philippines, ca. 1520–1720. The American Historical Review, 127(3), 1252-1287. https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/rhac218

Schama, S. (1987). The Embarrassment of Riches: An interpretation of Dutch culture in the Golden Age. Audible.

Simpson, J. A., & Weiner, E. S. C. (Eds.) (1989). Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed., Vol XVII Su-Thrivingly). Clarendon Press.

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A model for combining client assessments

As career practitioners, we need to think about what assessment tools may be useful for our clients; and which may not. We also need to consider which tools fit with our personal career philosophy; and which may not. And we must to think about which we are experienced enough in to deliver meaningfully to our client; and which we are not. These sound like simple decisions, but balancing others and self are key aspects to having an authentic career practice.

Analyse needs. Then there are a range of considerations when bringing it all together in a practice session. Most practice sessions begin with a chat, with inviting the client to tell us about themselves, why they have come to see us, and what they are aiming to get out of the session. In career practice the session is all about the client - a Rogerian approach (1942; read more here). As we analyse needs, we need to not only understand what the client's desires are, but what they may not yet know they need help with. We may quietly run through a model such as the DOTS - aka SODI/SODA - framework (Laws & Watts, 1977; read more here), mentally checking through judicious use of questioning whether the client has a good awareness of themselves; understands transitions; is aware of opportunities available to them; and is able to make decisions about how to make those opportunities manifest. And when we are experienced in our field, we can hone in on potential gaps surprisingly quickly. We aim to work out what is important to the client, and what cultural and sociological factors shape the client's sense of self (Osborn & Zunker, 2016), and this is not about us: it is about them. If we are less culturally familiar with the client's social/cultural group, we may need to tease out a range of ideas to establish the client's comfort-, challenge- and barrier-levels are, and what type of work is off limits for socio-cultural or disability reasons (e.g. an alcoholic working in a brewery). Then we summarise back to the client what we have heard, to double-check that this is what they are wanting to achieve (Osborn & Zunker, 2016). 

As part of the needs analysis, we may need to also explore anything else we have picked up on, where we wonder if the client may not yet know that they will need help with to meet their goals. More judicious questioning, listening, reframing. We gain a clearer picture, and build a relationship. We check that the client is happy (Osborn & Zunker, 2016).

Purpose of the Assessment. Now we have a much clearer idea of what the client is aiming to achieve, and begin running through our list of tools to consider what may help the client get closer to their goal. This is effectively where we "rummage through our stock room" looking for potential solutions. We may suggest possibilities to the client of both qualitative and quantitative career assessments to test how receptive they are to working with different tools, or whether the client has experienced similar types in the past. If tools have been used in the past, we are likely to explore how useful those were, and whether the client found the results to be accurate or not. As we are going through this process, we will mentally be crossing some tools off, and moving others higher on our 'possible' list (Osborn & Zunker, 2016). We double-check that whatever we aim to use will get the client closer to their stated goal. 

Decide on Assessments. We may end up with one or a few of the following:

1. a list of "getting to know ourselves" lenses if the client is needing self-awareness help (Osborn & Zunker, 2016)
2. transition tools and techniques to help our client move from one career into another
3. job search skills, CV, application letter, and informational interviewing to help our client see new opportunities available to them
4. economic factors to explore, family discussions and decision-making processes to help the client make decisions about changes of direction or retraining.

Results. We help the client to use and explore the tools. We check to see if the outcome was what the client wanted. We plan next steps (Osborn & Zunker, 2016). 

Repeat. We may see the client once: we may see them many times. We keep checking in with them to be sure that we are still focusing on what they want to achieve (Osborn & Zunker, 2016). We may refer on because our results were not what the client wanted (Nelson, 2014). 

Sam

References:

Law, B. & Watts, A. G. (1977). Schools, Careers and Community: A study of some approaches to careers education in schools. Church Information Office.

Nelson, M. (2014). 30 Tips for New Career Counselors. National Career Development Association (NCDA). https://www.ncda.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sd/news_article/5417/_self/layout_details/fals

Osborn, D. S., & Zunker, V. G. (2016). Using Assessment Results for Career Development (9th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Rogers, C. R. (1942). Counseling and psychotherapy: newer concepts in practice. Houghton Mifflin.

read more "A model for combining client assessments"

Download read-only GDrive files

I stumbled across a 15 year old file shared in a G:Drive, which I wanted to read! Fantastic! However, I could only read it online: I was unable to download the file. There were no save or download options under the "Share" menu. Further, the print button had been disabled, so I couldn't print the file to pdf either. 

Not being able to read offline is a bit tricky if the internet drops in and out (we live in the country and have an intermittent radio link internet signal). I hoped there might be an alternative way to download the file, and after a bit of searching, I found a great set of instructions from Epic Guide (2025) which walks us through how to download a read-only file. I have included a link to Epic Guide's two minute video explainer below (2025):

The chromestore link that Epic Guide (2025) tells us about is here: https://chromewebstore.google.com/search/document%20preview%20exporter?authuser=0

We install the extension and pin it to the extension tray in our toolbar. Then we go back to our document and refresh the page (Epic Guide, 2025). Then we can click the pinned icon in the extensions tray to begin imaging each page. Once all the pages have been imaged, then we can save the resulting file to our desired location.

Please note that the resulting file is just a series of images: it is not searchable, nor can the text be copied out. 

But now we can read at our leisure!

Sam

References:

Epic Guide. (2025, September 25). How to Download View Only PDF files from Google Drive 2025 - Download Protected PDF Files [video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/exMGYP4Kmm4

Chrome Web Store. (2025). Search "document preview exporter". https://chromewebstore.google.com/search/document%20preview%20exporter?authuser=0

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Continuous improvement and engagement

The research is in. It appears that continuous performance feedback models are the most effective for employees, as 65% of employees desire more feedback. Companies providing regular feedback - both formal and informal - have lower turnover rates (Giamos et al., 2025; Homisak, 2024). Managers who provide continuous feedback to grow employee performance are likely to keep their staff for longer. Staff have higher job satisfaction, which is linked to lower turnover intentions (Young & Tong, 2025). No surprises here: HR has been banging on about this for years. 

Of course, it is not only we plebs who benefit from development: managers also develop more capability and feel more empowered. Feedback enhances employee wellbeing, commitment, innovation and reduces absenteeism (Young & Tong, 2025). Training managers to support their teams effectively seems likely lead to improved employee satisfaction, as all employees will feel more valued and understood in their roles (Young & Tong, 2025). 

By embarking on a continuous performance management programme, we inadvertently generate more staff engagement. Staff engagement is a critical factor in organizational success, influencing employee performance, retention, and overall workplace culture. Effective engagement practices not only enhance job satisfaction but also foster a sense of belonging and commitment among employees. Sure, during crises, like the Covid-19 pandemic, communication methods such as video calls helped to maintain connections, and showed management's concern the team, but we prefer face-to-face communication (Macpherson & Ashwell, 2024). Proactive engagement strategies, such as personalised outreach and team discussions, grows employees sense of organisational connection. Engagement fosters a positive workplace culture and improves employee satisfaction (Thomas, 2024). If we see that continuous performance processes add value and are meaningful, it also enhances engagement levels (Holmes, 2020). 

However, to deliberately build engagement, we can focus on the following elements (Young & Tong, 2025):

• Autonomy. Providing employees with greater role autonomy increases engagement... leading to better performance. When we feel we have control over our work, we gain motivation and commitment, reducing turnover intentions (Young & Tong, 2025).
• Employee voice. If we can share opinions, ideas, and feedback, then participate in decision-making, we feel more engaged, valued, and our performance increases (Young & Tong, 2025). 
• Recognition. Honest and specific feedback is key for engagement, but the investment is high: 43% of us need at least weekly feedback to feel valued, and I bet there are not that many organisations doing that (Homisak, 2024). Creating a culture of appreciation through employee recognition motivates us, and encourages us to strive for excellence (Yoon & Hutchison, 2018). 
• PD. Providing PD opportunities is also key for engagement. If we can see a clear path for growth in the organisation, we are more likely to be committed and perform well (Young & Tong, 2025). By doing PD reviews, we can also improve satisfaction and retention, as it creates a platform for us to discuss aspirations and development goals (Holmes, 2020). 
• Mentoring. Management support improves engagement. When we feel supported, we are more likely to engage fully with our roles (Holmes, 2020). 
• Culture. A supportive workplace culture that values our contributions and well-being is another key element for engagement; where we feel safe to express our ideas and concerns (Young & Tong, 2025). 

Collectively, these elements will build trust. Establishing a trusting relationship between employees and managers is essential for effective feedback. Regular feedback helps us to get our performance pitch right, fostering a culture of continuous improvement... vital for us to be satisfied in our work (Billett et al., 2019). As an example, internship students said that receiving constructive feedback from workplace mentors is vital, providing insights to take with them into employment (Billett et al., 2019). 

Ensuring these elements - autonomy, employee voice, recognition, PD, mentoring, culture - are embedded in our organisations not only benefits our organisations, but they keep the rest of us stimulated, engaged, and happy in our work. 

Hopefully future research will be able to show us how long engagement lasts for, in the long-term.

Sam

References:

Billett, S., Newton, J. M., Rogers, G., & Noble, C. (Eds.). (2019). Augmenting health and social care students’ clinical learning experiences. Springer International Publishing.

Giamos, D., Doucet, O., & Lapalme, M. (2025). What is Known About Development-Oriented Performance Management Practices? A Scoping Review. Human Resource Development Review, 24(1), 37-69. https://doi.org/10.1177/15344843241278405<

Holmes, A. (2020). What are the barriers and opportunities for continuing professional development for professional services staff in UK HE?. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 24(3), 79-86. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603108.2020.1750501

Homisak, L. (2024). How to Measure Performance Management: The truth is: employees can make or break a practice. Podiatry Management, 43(4), 63-67.

Macpherson, W., & Ashwell, D. (2024). Redundancy with dignity - Give it to me straight. New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 48(1), 1-34. https://doi.org/10.24135/nzjer.v47i2.122

Thomas, C. (2024). Graduating Students’ Perception of Professional Social Media Platforms for Professional Networking and Career Development [Master's thesis, Otago Polytechnic]. https://www.researchbank.ac.nz/server/api/core/bitstreams/b7fce182-e7ad-4955-8250-b8db95dbeae3/content

Yoon, H. J., & Hutchison, B. (2018). Chapter 14: Syntheses and Future Directions for Career Services, Credentials, and Training. In H. J. Yoon, (Ed.), International Practices of Career Services, Credentials, and Training (pp. 217-238). National Career Development Association [NCDA]. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322274830_International_Practices_of_Career_Services_Credentialing_and_Training

Young, J., & Tong, D. (2025, June). Good Work Index [report]. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development [CIPD]. https://www.cipd.org/globalassets/media/knowledge/knowledge-hub/reports/2025-pdfs/8868-good-work-index-2025-report-web.pdf

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Why are there not more apprentices?

Apparently in the 1980s 15% of secondary school leavers went to University; today, including polytechnic degrees, it is around 40% (Cox, 2021; Scott, 2025; Johnson). Additionally, back in the 1980s we had a series of major set-back as a nation: a currency collapse; high national debt; the introduction of student loans; the gutting of the public sector; and the dismantling of the Ministry of Works, the privatising of the Railways and the energy sector where so many apprentices were trained, and where there was a turnover of 100,000 tradespeople a year (Murray, 2001). Staggering.

Logically, apprenticeships should be an attractive option for school leavers, as they offer a range of advantages. Many industries offering apprenticeships are relatively stable, providing security during a sometimes-unpredictable labour market. The specialised skills set developed through these apprenticeship programmes is versatile, providing valuable benefits to both the local and national economies. Modern apprenticeships nurture "non-cognitive skills" (Cinque et al, 2021, p. 7) — such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving — highly valued by employers, and increasingly sought in the workplace (Vaughn, 2017). The hands-on learning experiences that apprenticeships provide equips journeymen with nationally and internationally recognised qualifications and sound skills to found a career upon (Murray, 2001).

Funding is available so that employers to hire apprentices including: Apprenticeship Boost (Tertiary Education Commission, 2020); and the Māori and Pasifika Trades Training (MPTT) designed to enhance employment prospects for Māori and Pasifika learners, offering fee-free pre-trade training to apprentices between the ages of 16 and 40 (MPTT, 2026). The plus for apprentices is that they earn while they learn and work (McIlraith, 2022); and generally either enter their career with a minimal student loan or none (McIlraith, 2022); They end up with a tertiary qualification - granted, usually only to Level 4 (NZQA, 2015); by age 25 apprentices earn more than university graduates; and by age 40, tradespeople are more financially secure (Dann, 2017; Hurren et al., 2017). 

While apprentices may be more financially secure as they approach middle age (Hurren et al., 2017) it is only at around age 46 where degree holders match tradespeople economically. And then degree holders pull ahead financially (Bealing, 2021), as they move into more senior, highly-paid roles, and into the board room (Ali & Scott, 2024). But still, those apprentices - now tradespeople - will have well earned enough to put themselves through Uni later in life, and be very competitive with a trade AND a freshly minted degree (Cox, 2021).

This raises the question: with many positive aspects, why in 2024 did only 3712 of our annual 67,000 school leavers take up apprenticeships (Education Counts, 2026; Johnston, 2024), a mere 5.5%? This appears even more disheartening as, despite an overall population increase of 15%, in 2024 we had almost the same number of apprentices as 2014 (i.e. 3742; Figure NZ Trust, 2026). We should have had 4317. 

Are we, as career practitioners, providing accurate information to our clients? Apprenticeships could form an ideal first career, enabling our tradespeople, when ready for a new challenge, to dive into higher level tertiary education when ready. 

And can cost benefit information compete against the cultural kudos of a university degree (Johnston, 2025)?  

Sam

References:

Ali, A., & Scott, D. (2024). Comparison of education earning premiums using tax and survey data [briefing paper]. Ministry of Education. https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/244534/Comparison-of-education-earning-premiums-using-tax-and-survey-data.pdf

Bealing, M. (2021). Under-served learners: The economic and wellbeing benefits of improving education outcomes [report]. NZIER. https://up.education/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/NZIER-report-to-UP-Education-Under-served-learners-The-economic-and-wellbeing-benefits-of-improving-education-outcomes.pdf

Cinque, M., Carretero, S., & Napierala, J. (2021). Non-cognitive skills and other related concepts: towards a better understanding of similarities and differences (No. 2021/09). JRC Working Papers Series on Labour, Education and Technology. https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/236541/1/176491032X.pdf

Cox, M. (2021, October 13). Does New Zealand need so many young people studying for a degree?. Business and Economic Research Ltd (BERL). https://berl.co.nz/economic-insights/does-new-zealand-need-so-many-young-people-studying-degree

Dann, L. (2017, December 2). Apprenticeship vs degree - who earns more in a lifetime. New Zealand Herald. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/aged-care/apprenticeship-vs-degree-who-earns-more-in-a-lifetime/NAB3SWXGIUS375TYU26R5MQNOY/

Education Counts. (2025). School leavers' attainment [Excel; Pivot-table-School-Leavers-2014-2024, Pivot-table-Vocational-Pathways-2014-2024]. Ministry of Education. https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/school-leavers

Figure NZ Trust. (2026). School leavers enrolled in industry training and apprenticeships in their first year after school in New Zealand 2014–2024 [number of people]. https://figure.nz/chart/5DZLYDcToEHd3U5W

Hurren, K., Cox, M., & Nana, G. (2017). Modelling costs v benefits of apprenticeship v degree: A lifetime net financial position approach [report]. Business and Economic Research Limited [BERL]/Industry Training Federation. https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE32207681

Johnston, M. (2024, November 8). New Zealand needs clearer pathways to apprenticeships. The New Zealand Initiative. https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/reports-and-media/opinion/new-zealand-needs-clearer-pathways-to-apprenticeships/

Johnston, M. (2025). Trade Routes: Charting new pathways from secondary school to industry training [report]. The New Zealand Initiative. https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/reports-and-media/reports/trade-routes-charting-new-pathways-from-secondary-school-to-industry-training/document/872

MPTT. (2026). Home. Māori and Pasifika Trades Training. https://www.mptt.nz/

Murray, N. (2001). A history of apprenticeship in New Zealand [Master's thesis, Lincoln University]. https://researcharchive.lincoln.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10182/1599/murray_msocsci.pdf?sequence=1

McIlraith, B. (2022, September 16). Trades v bachelor's degrees: Who earns more?. The Manawatu Standard (p. 8).

NZQA. (2015). The New Zealand Qualifications Framework. New Zealand Qualifications Authority. https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/assets/Studying-in-NZ/New-Zealand-Qualification-Framework/requirements-nzqf.pdf

Scott, D. (2025). A review of the New Zealand evidence on the benefits of tertiary education [report]. Ministry of Education | Te Tāhutu o te Mātauranga. https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/250538/A-review-of-NZ-evidence-on-benefits-of-tertiary-education.pdf

Tertiary Education Commission. (2020, August). Apprenticeship Boost. https://www.tec.govt.nz/funding/funding-and-performance/funding/fund-finder/apprenticeship-boost

Vaughan, K. (2017). The role of apprenticeship in the cultivation of soft skills and dispositions. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 69(4), 540–557. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2017.1326516

World in Data. (2026). Population development in New Zealand since 1960. https://www.worlddata.info/oceania/new-zealand/populationgrowth.php

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Even more catchphrases!

Already it is time for another lot of catchphrases.

Firstly, in the words of the old woman to the dodgy Knight from the The Wife of Bath's Tale (Lyrics Translate, 2026, citing Chaucer, 1400, l. 1000) "you can't get there from here". I love that colloquial translation!

Once upon a time nearly everyone smoked. And, because there was a culture of, if you were having a cigarette, you would offer one to those around you, an acceptable response was "I've just put one out thanks". In our family, we used that for everything: "Would you like a glass of wine?" "I've just put one out, thanks". Or "Would you like a shower?" "I've just put one out, thanks". Most people today, in an age of such low smoking numbers, would not get the context!

Then we have the 1990s "Thousands of tiny luminous spheres" from Natural Glow makeup sold by telemarketer extraordinaire, Suzanne Paul, in a smashing Wolverhampton accent (Knight, 2024). This became a national catchphrase: even The Bats used it as a 2000 album title. In our family, we would use the "thousands of tiny luminous spheres" to describe the merits of anything that disguised reality and turned a negative into a positive. 

Ah: who remembers Mrs Marsh, of the "Like liquid gets into this chalk" fame? The reply was "Ooo, it does get in!". This was an Australian toothpaste commercial, with fluoride delivered with a real Aussie twang and purple chalk (AustralianAds, 2010, 0:17). "Ooo, it does get in!" was used by us for everything.

Another Aussie pearl was Madge of the 1989 Palmolive dishwash liquid: "You know you're soaking in it" in the nailbar (Kiwi Retro, 2015). "You know you're soaking in it" was often paired with "Ooo, it does get in" (surprisingly!). However what was REALLY surprising was that this ad was completely lifted from a US Palmolive ad, from 1976 (Bionic Disco, 2024), right down to exactly the same script. 

Then of course there is the four Yorkshiremen skit, originally by Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Marty Feldman in episode 6 of "At Last the 1948 Show", but taken over by the Monty Python team, with the protagonists telling more and more outrageous stories of childhood poverty, ending with "And you try and tell the young people of today that, and they won't believe you" (TheFullMontyPython, 2007, 3:07). In our family it morphed slightly into said "tell that to the young people of today, and they'll not believe you".

Funny how talking about these sparks more memories, deciphering our idiosyncratic family language.

Sam

References:

AustralianAds. (2010, February 14). Mrs Marsh's Colgate Fluoriguard ad (Australian ad, 1970's) [video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/h21jl2pLc1o

Bionic Disco. (2024, December 30). Palmolive Liquid 'You're Soaking In It' Commercial (1976) [video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/5I8u4XZo1IQ

Kiwi Retro. (2015, May 5). Palmolive Ad 1989 - Madge - Celebration [video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/CXvUXM3xURU

Knight, T. (2024, March 19). Suzanne Paul: An Infomercial Queen On Life After Luminous Spheres. New Zealand Herald. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/viva/culture/suzanne-paul-an-infomercial-queen-on-life-after-luminous-spheres/JZMOHHHJ5JB2ZOCGIOMQJ6JH3I/

Lyrics Translate. (2026). The Wife of Bath's Tale [from G. Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales]. https://lyricstranslate.com/en/geoffrey-chaucer-wife-baths-tale-lyrics.html

TheFullMontyPython. (2007, December 5). Four Yorkshiremen- Monty Python [video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/ue7wM0QC5LE

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The parasocial experience

In watching a conference presentation from cardiology surgeon and stand up comedian, Dr Rohin Francis, he mentioned a term new to me: that of the parasocial relationship (CEBM Oxford, 2025). So I went to look up what that meant.

Originally, we had two components: the parasocial relationship or PSR, which is "the illusion of intimacy with media" figures; and parasocial interactions or PSI, the "sense of a give and take [we may think we have] with the media figure" (Forster, 2023, p. 1, Horton & Wohl, 1956). Today we tend to refer to the parasocial experience or PSE as one thing, or an "imaginary, one-sided engagement of audiences with media personalities" (Forster, 2023, p. 1). It is fascinating that the research on parasocial relationships (Horton & Wohl, 1956) seems to have begun in the television age, but perhaps it was more that the US post war 'golden age' of industrial psychology was gaining a head of steam.

The antithesis of PSE is the social experience... where we interact in person with real people in real time. Where we rock up, warts and all, and have an uncurated, un-Googleable, un-undoable experience. PSE has grown from its formalisation as a concept by Horton and Wohl (1956) of perhaps watching a news reader on TV; however it also includes being an audience observer of "actors (in person) in theater; [and] reading about fictional characters in novels; [and] watching live streamers on social media; and even relating brands and websites as a whole" (Forster, 2023, p. 4). So much of life is a PSE. A book. A sound file. A TV show. A film. A painting. So might a lecture be a PSE, as often we may not have an in-person interaction with a lecturer (Forster, 2023).

Anywhere we can't be in person, but can bank the experience to catch up on later: Zoom recordings or DVDs are PSEs. But then we get into the tricky position of trying to decide if a phone call or a Zoom call is a PSE or an SE. Or is this a blend? We are not in person, but we are interacting in real time. The blending of the virtual and the real makes the boundaries of the terms fuzzy.

I think we can also lose sight that we have had fan-boy/girl reactions to celebrities since forever. PSE is not a purely modern social media thing. We have had PSEs prior to TV as well, with kings, preachers, peacemakers and warriors: Odysseus; Hannibal; Boudica; Joan of Arc; Peter the Great; Queen Victoria; Ghandi. TV made them more accessible; and digital media more accessible still. 

But at least we all now know what a PSE is :-)

Sam

References:

CEBM Oxford. (2025, September 22). The wacky world of wellness-influencer-to-consumer communication - Dr Rohin Francis [video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/lXZh9B_ADko

Forster, R. T. (Ed). (2023). The Oxford Handbook of Parasocial Experience. Oxford University Press.

Horton, D., & Wohl, R. (1956). Mass communication and para-social interaction: Observations on intimacy at a distance. Psychiatry, 19(3), 215-229. https://doi.org/10.1080/00332747.1956.11023049

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AI does rot the brain

While I have written about AI before (here), there is research showing that regular use of LLM apps - such as Claude.ai and ChatGPT - appears to reduce our brainpower. In a small experiment designed to see if we 'lose it' if we don't 'use it', participants were divided into three groups of 18, tasked with writing a piece "with[out] digital assistance, or with the help of an internet search engine, or [with] ChatGPT" (Kosmyna et al., 2025; McBain, 2025). There have been previous studies (Kosmyna et al., 2025, citing Stadler et al., 2024), and this paper had a limited number of student participants - a group of 54; we probably need to do a few more studies to firm things up.

Regardless of participant numbers, the findings seem relatively unambiguous. Using EEG to track cognitive engagement and load (Kosmyna et al., 2025), results indicate "that the more external help participants had [for their writing task], the lower their level of brain connectivity, so those who used ChatGPT to write showed significantly less activity in the brain networks associated with cognitive processing, attention and creativity" (McBain, 2025). Through a a process known as "cognitive offloading", results indicate that increased use of "AI systems [...] lead[s] to diminished prospects for independent problem-solving and critical thinking", which in turn "raises concerns about the long-term implications for human intellectual development and autonomy" (Kosmyna et al., 2025, p. 10).

The findings are worrying, especially as secondary school students seem to use AI/LLMs a LOT. Tertiary institutes are still trying to hold back the tide on AI use... for now. With these research results, this strategy seems imminently sensible, as "excessive reliance on AI-driven solutions" seems to "inadvertently contribute to cognitive atrophy" (Kosmyna et al., 2025, p. 10). Ouch. That is pretty damning.

I know of people who regularly use LLMs for work tasks. They outsource their emails to an LLM; the text to frame their quotes; their first draft contracts; policy; procedure; and other writing. But, as I have mentioned before (here), writing, composition, clarity of thought and expression of argument are learned expertises, or "time skills" (Canning, 1975), “where the ticking away of the unforgiving seconds plays a dominant part in both learning and application of the skill” (p. 277). Like driving, we cannot contract it out to others and expect our skills to improve without that continuous practice. Our old skills will grow rusty from disuse, and we will have to retrain to some level to reclaim what has evaporated through atrophy.

Of course, these results may be a knee-jerk reaction to the 'new'; over-blown drama that will evaporate like dew as the field progresses. We may simply be replacing one skill for another. 

Only time will tell.

Sam

References:

Canning, B. W. (1975). Keyboard skill-a useful business accompaniment. Education + Training, 17(10), 277-278. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb016409

Kosmyna, N., Hauptmann, E., Yuan, Y. T., Situ, J., Liao, X. H., Beresnitzky, A. V., ... & Maes, P. (2025). Your brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of cognitive debt when using an AI assistant for essay writing task. arXiv. Advance online publication. https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872

McBain, S. (2025, October 18). Are we living in a golden age of stupidity?. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/18/are-we-living-in-a-golden-age-of-stupidity-technology

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