gozzterLeave a Comment on It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.

It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.

Suppose I was trying to convince you that something is not X, but Y. Would that way of stating it be efficient in helping you to remember it, or would you be more likely to remember the X-part of it? Before you get the chance to understand what X is not, would your attention anchor to Y because it was the last thing stated?[i] The structure seems a bit, well, off – if vaguely familiar…. Apparently one of the most recognizable pattern of AI-generated text is ‘It’s not X, it’s Y’. I have never been tempted to use AI however, so I’m recounting all this with creaky neurons that can no longer bear much extra weight.

Cognitive scientists have suggested that when you’re told what something isn’t, your brain processes the negated concept first. Negative assertions sometimes do not assert, they divert. That reminded me of something I read many years ago about negative assertions that fascinated me: try not to think of an elephant while you’re brushing your teeth. The harder you try, the more you realize you can’t.

When I was still a functioning member of society -before I retired, in other words- my work allowed me to attend a tax write-offable conference in New Zealand. In fact, I pretended that the sole reason for the trip was to learn how a new scientific finding might improve my professional performance, although I could just as easily have learned it from one of the many journals in my field that seemed excited about the topic.

I wasn’t alone in my reasons for attending the conference, I imagine, but in those naïve times, we all pretended that the sandy beach just steps from the hotel, was merely a happy coincidence. It was a reward for a long and difficult trip.

Jodi seemed not to care about the beach, though: “It’s not where you came from, G, it’s why you decide to attend…” I suppose she had a point, but not a particularly convincing one for me: she was from Brisbane, a wonderful beach city in Australia. And Auckland was just a 3-4 hour flight for her across the Tasman Sea instead of my 14 hour flight from Vancouver.

But I could only concentrate on her negative assertion; for me the ‘not where you came from’ part of her argument was sadly misplaced -accusative, even. Vancouver had beaches too, but the culture there was different from here in the antipodes.

I smiled and politely shook my head. “Are you trying to justify the closeness of Brisbane to Auckland and what we might learn here, as being more valuable and less of a financial burden for your employers than my trip?”

At first she seemed surprised, but then her eyes twinkled at the challenge. “I suppose I am, G. I killed two birds with one stone, to borrow what I think is an old British proverb. My sister lives near Auckland and her birthday is this week…”

I shook my head again. “Actually the expression is derived from the efficiency of hunting practices in Greek mythology: specifically from the story of Daedalus killing two birds with one stone to make wings so he could escape from the Labyrinth.” I hate myself when I show off… especially when I’m not sure of my sources.

The game was now on in earnest, though. “Well, you have to admit it saved me money, at least…”

I shrugged at her weak comeback. “But your firm still has to pay for the trip and your accommodation and meals does it not? The fact that your sister lives here merely affected your decision to travel, not your employer’s willingness to support your continuing education surely.”

Her face almost cracked with the smile she mounted. “G, ‘It’s not X, it’s Y’; are you trying to tell me that the reason you opted to fly all the way to New Zealand was strictly for what the conference offered? It’s February and winter in Canada; any beaches you have there are pretty well useless there this time of year.”

She had a point. I thought I’d try a different tack. “I’m merely reacting to your negative assertion…”

She frowned, and seemed confused at the riposte. “How do you mean?”

I smiled and pretended to roll my eyes. “You said, basically, that ‘it’s not where you came from or even that your sister lives here; it’s the conference that’s important,’ remember?”

She almost nodded, although still obviously confused.

“Well, the most common AI response to a question is apparently with an initial negative assertion: ‘It’s not X, it’s Y.’ I’m still not au fait with all of the habits of AI, but it seems to me that perhaps you should have phrased your answer differently so as not to anchor me to the negative part first. Something like, ‘The reason I’m here is the conference, and not the beaches…”

“So you think I was doing an ‘AI’?” her face asked the question; I don’t think it was her mind.

I couldn’t help my smile. “ Do you remember what we heard in that tech guru’s lecture today? The negation form of the initial AI answer isn’t just annoying, it distorts how people process and remember information, eh? I mean before you even get the chance to absorb its answer, your attention was already anchored to what it said it was not.”

She blushed. “I must have been thinking of seeing my sister…” She sighed at being outmaneuvered. “What should I have said?”

I thought for a moment. “I’m not actually sure I remember what that lecturer said; just that you (or AI) should never start with a negative assertion because being the first, it’s what you tend to remember the best…” Then I mumbled to myself in a whisper: “Or was it the other way around…?”

She stared at me, obviously unsure whether to debate or concede the point. Finally she decided on the latter. “All this thinking is making me hungry… Are you not hungry yet or you want to come with me for dinner later…?” I raised a similarly confused eyebrow just as she started to laugh. “Do you think the AI course is wasted on us, G…?”

I couldn’t resist a delighted chuckle. “I’m not here for the beach, Jodi… But let’s go to a restaurant near the water, eh?”

[i] https://theconversation.com/slanguage-why-ais-stylistic-negation-its-not-x-its-y-is-both-annoying-and-doesnt-work-278967

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