On your 5 closest friends, now that #2 is Claude

Lately, I've become obsessed with becoming the best version of myself. Realizing that one day we'll die and the only battles that mattered were the ones we fought and won inside ourselves has changed me, slowly. It started with wanting something small. I wanted to get a great job to make my parents proud. I wanted to change the world. Being naive and thinking that it was possible was easy, what was harder was growing up and realizing I was right. Changing the world is possible, but it's extremely hard. Innovation is costly, good leadership is fleeting, and it takes luck for the right ideas to win out amid a sea of ideas that are more profitable. The one thing that we can control is ourselves, our behavior, the way we treat others and the honesty and humility with which we approach problems. Becoming the best version of yourself is the logical first step to changing the world. I've always started with reflection and research, throwing all my notes into a Notion database I named "Second Brain." My clever naming was based off this paper here: Second Brain Paper.

The paper asserts that your brain is not only what's inside it, but the external knowledge bases you rely upon. These knowledge systems act as part of your brain, being built by you, and building you in ways you don't know consciously. Note apps like Obsidian, Notion, and Apple Notes, to name a few, have grown in popularity for years. But all of them are plagued by the same problem. As your knowledge base scales, your ability to manage your notes decreases. What began as helpful links, fonts, and folders, now silos your thoughts.

Your brain, however, is excellent at short term knowledge management. With a trained and focused mind, it can be extremely powerful. After a long day at work, you might spend the car ride home reflecting on the work you did. When you arrive at home, you talk with your support structure about the various events that occurred, the people you talked to, and the way you felt. Maybe your friend reminds of how your coworker said something similar two weeks ago. Or perhaps, your Mom gives you tried and true advice, which you've heard before, but has new meaning in this moment.

These people serve as your knowledge base. They remind you of where you are, who you've been, and where you're going. Put simply, there's a reason that you are the average of your 5 closest friends.

To me, this is the promise of AI. I don't need a model that can solve PhD level problems, or one that tells me I'm "Absolutely right!" to quit my job and start a new life. I need a model smart enough to understand me, and put me back on track when things get sideways. It should help me to show up for others, and to show up for myself. The catch is that the system needs to make you more reliant on your mind and abilities, while offering you insights that nudge this process along. It's a bit of a conundrum, a system that supports you but slowly weans you off of it. Sound familiar?

The system needs to be searchable, such that it has true knowledge indexing use. It needs to be able to connect ideas that have already been connected, and derive new insights based on past ideas. But most of all, it should feel like it wants you to succeed at your goals.