by Shaun Kahler
It's interesting how much time we're spending these days on building artificial intelligence. But what are we doing to really build our *own* intelligence? During a recent chat with ChatGPT about "ziptie hoarding", I discovered that I genuinely envy those who engage in this practice because I associate the practice with hyper-organization and success. So to become more like this, I asked for some ways to build this sort of "branching mindset" - recursive thinking, ways to maintain intelligent "momentum" so to speak. And here's what it came up with:
(To train a modular, layered, branch-heavy mind)
Start with any concept. Ask:
Pick a topic. Build 3 levels:
Pick a real-world object. Define:
Take an emotion or value. Map branches:
Assign version numbers to habits or patterns. Track their upgrades.
What’s v1.0? What’s v3.0?
Pick a board position. Find:
Train depth & contingencies.
Pick a domain (e.g. “sleep,” “money,” “motivation”). Draw its entire support system.
Take 2 similar things (e.g. “discipline” vs “motivation”). Branch their:
Pick any outcome (e.g. “clean room”). Ask:
Take an activity (e.g. “going to the gym”). List all required subcomponents:
Break each into smaller bits.
Take one moment of your day. Ask:
Take a decision (past or future). Build:
Trace where they all go.
Choose a strong emotion. Break it into:
→ Then branch each.
Take a story you tell yourself (“I suck at ____”). Break it into nested beliefs:
Take something that went wrong. Branch:
Pick a tool (physical or digital). Break it into:
Take something you’ve learned (e.g. “Python” or “Dating”). Build out:
Pick a domain (e.g. “Health”). Break into:
→ Each gets its own sub-branches
Plan your next week:
Pick a goal or dream (“build a company,” “live free”). Break into: