this post was submitted on 17 May 2026
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

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Cars turned us—one of the best species in long distance running into couch potatoes.

Now llms are attacking our brains and making us stupid and insane. A species of slopheads if you will.

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[–] Osan@lemmy.world 3 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

I don't believe LLMs are inherently evil. They can in some situations be the right tool to use. Unfortunately they came in a time where technical literacy was already declining and was also pushed by greedy corporations and investors. It's no the tool but rather how or by whom it's being used that's the problem.

If we start treating it like the auxiliary tool it's instead of the primary developer, writer, and manager, it becomes just another tool to support the process instead of replacing human skill and critical thinking. Just like how the computer and calculators did not replace professionals but made them more efficient, or how the internet and stack overflow didn't replace problem solving and critical thinking but made the process faster and gave you time to focus on more important tasks.

Coming back to OPs analogy, cars aren't inherently evil but it's the culture associated with them. With the right adaptation, technology, and infrastructure they can be a very amazing tool without replacing walking or human skill. If you're concerned about the environment we can find sustainable solutions (EVs), if you're concerned about loosing the human aspect you can find a human-first solution (infrastructure that rewards walking and public transport for short travel but allows car for long-distance or in emergency).

The issue is not with the technology itself but how we've been using it and how greedy individuals are pushing the unhealthy version for their own benefits despite a healthy adoption being possible.

[–] tiramichu@sh.itjust.works 1 points 11 minutes ago

The non-evil version unfortuntaely depends on nobody involved having any profit motive.

[–] lime@feddit.nu 119 points 1 day ago (2 children)

steve jobs famously called the personal computer "a bicycle for the mind", in that it's a tool that makes you more efficient. calling language models "an automobile for the mind" in that it gets you there very quickly, without any expended effort, locks you into specific intrastructure, and is bad for the environment, seems pretty apt.

[–] SkybreakerEngineer@lemmy.world 4 points 15 hours ago (3 children)

This would be the same Steve Jobs that thought an all-fruit diet both killed cancer and made it so he didn't have to shower? The one who died when Eliza was still state of the art?

[–] Prathas@lemmy.zip 1 points 7 hours ago

Well, you sorta have to be a little mad (crazy) to invent touchscreen phones, no?

[–] SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 15 hours ago

Broken clock etc

[–] lime@feddit.nu 1 points 14 hours ago

just like the only guy to win two unshared nobel prizes, yes

[–] Flagstaff@programming.dev 17 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

locks you into

Can't go wrong with offline and open-source!

[–] DecentM@lemmy.blahaj.zone 19 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

Locking in in this context means that you're relying on an LLM for your problem solving - atrophying your skills in the meantime, making you dependent on a model. So you can indeed go wrong with open weight abd self hosted ones. At least thats my understanding of this.

[–] foggy@lemmy.world 5 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Here's the scary part... The skill of developers has been for about 20 years: "look it up on stack overflow. Find a similar problem. Fix it to suit my environment."

But... No one is posting to stack overflow anymore. So LLMs have effectively become stack overflow.

I try to not let the skill atrophy by doing it the old way. Can't. The well is running dry.

What I will say is that LLMs make parsing logs a lot easier. So, doing things the old old fashioned way is still in the cards.

It's weird out here.

[–] baggachipz@sh.itjust.works 5 points 19 hours ago

No one is posting to stack overflow anymore. So LLMs have effectively become stack overflow.

Remember when Google gave relevant search results? Pepperidge Farm remembers….

[–] lime@feddit.nu 1 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago)

it wasn't what i was getting at, but that's also true. the model requires a certain setup to be effective, so now you're locked into that. the model does things a certain way, so now you're locked into that. nobody reads the code it produces, so now you're locked into that.

all the while every other way of doing things disappears from your mind.

[–] lime@feddit.nu 2 points 21 hours ago

considering the massive accidents of models deleting codebases and production db's, the fact that the tool may be open source doesn't really help.

besides, i don't know any open source models. i know of open-weight models, but i've yet to see anyone share the training regime and source data for an even vaguely effective model.

[–] kboos1@lemmy.world 12 points 18 hours ago

It will make below average people seem more like current average intelligence once they learn how to skillfully use AI. Collectively it will reduce overall intelligence and increase reliance on technology just like the Internet and smart phone have done. No high horse here, I'm just as guilty. But the AI rott will be a very big issue in the coming generations just like Internet rott has become a big issue with gen Z and gen Alpha.

Reading, writing, social skills, and general life skills are at an all time low already.

[–] ExtremeDullard@piefed.social 17 points 1 day ago (3 children)

The analogy is flawed:

The car gave mere humans superhuman traveling abilities.

AI gives Big Tech unprecedented surveillance power and control over the entire society, but puts people out of work and debases everything it touches.

Cars empowered people. AI empowers corporate fascists.

[–] RandomLegend@lemmy.dbzer0.com 37 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Cars empowered people at first.

But look at every single american town or city and you will see that it crippled them, made them dependent and robbed them of their freedom.

[–] JennaR8r@lemmy.dbzer0.com -2 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (2 children)

Maybe you should post this showerthought in the "fuck cars" community where more people might agree with your hot take.

Otherwise most of us know that cars are what you make of them. You can choose to walk a few miles a few times a week to run errands, even if you have the option to drive. This is how I live my life. I guess I live in what some people would call a "15 minute city" where everything we need is within walkable distance. So we're all healthy fit & get fresh air & exercise every day simply by living here. I also have this automobile to drive me over 100 miles in 2 hours which is what I'm doing tonight which would be impossible for me to walk or run or bike that distance in 2 hours.

[–] RandomLegend@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 21 hours ago

I wouldn't exactly call this a hot take showerthought if you look at how many studies there already are that show the effects of car dependency in most of north america.

I am german, my work place is 700m away from where i live, the next supermarket is 450 meters away and i don't live in a big city where those numbers could go down to under 100m.

So, i know that my "hot take" is not true for most parts of the world. But my statement was specifically about american cities and towns. There is also the very big problem of segregation of incomes. If you can't afford a car, you can't afford to live in certain neighborhoods because you simply can't walk 15 minutes to the next supermarket or to your work.

And i cannot NOT call this crippling and robbing of freedom.

I am 100% with you on the fact that cars also enable freedom. And as i much as i rely on public transport, i also enjoy the freedom of simply hopping into my car and drive exactly where i want and when i want.

But depending on where you live, a car is a necessity instead of a "freedom-enabler" and that... is crippling....

[–] white_nrdy@programming.dev 6 points 21 hours ago

That is great that you live in a walkable area. They were saying that cars have destroyed areas by making them non walkable. And that's not necessarily the residents fault, and a lot of the people that live there probably want it do be different but aren't able to move.

[–] Melonpoly@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Cars don't empower people. We've had "super human" travailing abilities long before the car. Cars take away freedom. I don't understand how being forced to use one method of travel for daily commute is empowering.

I've come to dislike the word empowered. In recent times it is, more often than not, used to gaslight people into accepting something that has far more negative consequences than positive.

[–] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 2 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

So obviously you don't like cars, that's fine, I respect that. But your comment makes no sense. It's like if I said, "I don't like cake, I don't understand how being forced to eat cake every day is enjoyable."

Having a car does not force you to drive it. Not having a car forces you to NOT drive it.

You can hate cars, hell, you can hate me just for having one, but saying it FORCES you to drive it everyday is just nonsense.

[–] Melonpoly@lemmy.world 1 points 15 hours ago

I don't hate cars, I like mechanical shit. I hate not being able to commute without one because that's how my country has built its towns and cities. The buses are shit, there are no trains and walking is out of the question because the pedestrian infrastructure is unsafe or non existent.

[–] kugel7c@feddit.org 2 points 20 hours ago

It's not your or any others singular car forcing anyone to drive. It's the expectation that an adult person can drive and needs to use a car that forces or at least pushes everything towards driving.

If the design and soundscape of almost any space weren't impacted negatively by cars I wouldn't think they'd be forcing anything onto me. But that is reality even in nominally not car dependent inner city Germany. So that's why I hate cars.

[–] Flagstaff@programming.dev 1 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

I don't understand how being forced to use one method of travel for daily commute is empowering.

You're.. what? You're not forced to work where you work; you can change to a closer workplace. Cars made it possible at all to go as far as you can for work. How do they remove freedom if they increase your options for where you can go?

I wonder if the most objective viewpoint is just that of neutrality; it's not better nor worse but just different. EVs sourcing from nuclear energy are probably objectively better.

[–] Melonpoly@lemmy.world 1 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

What? I should just change jobs? What the fuck? I feel so empowered.

[–] Flagstaff@programming.dev 2 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

What's the problem? Unless you got forcibly relocated to a different branch or something midway through your career at a certain workplace, you knew exactly what the distance was from your home when you first applied, no? Alternatively, you could move closer to work, which is literally what I did and cut my commute by ⅔s. I wish my infrastructure had better public transit, too, but all I'm saying is there are usually ways out there to reduce the pain that you can try.

[–] Melonpoly@lemmy.world 1 points 16 minutes ago

You have absolutely no idea what my situation is. I moved as close to work as I can.

The car has taken away my ability to get to places however the fuck I want. As it stands, you either own a car or you are stuck were you are, and this is supposed to be empowering? I can't just walk to the shop because a) it's a 30min drive and b) there's no pedestrian entrance. Want to experience nature? 1h30 drive, want to see a movie? It's in a mall with no pedestrian entrance. I feel so empowered being allowed to use a single method of transport to live life.

Cars are fine in moderation, but we've gone far beyond that.

[–] bravesilvernest@lemmy.ml 2 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

", in theory." Should probably be added to the statement that you can change workplaces. Cost of living, availability of good paying jobs, and a variety of factors work into that flow.

[–] Flagstaff@programming.dev 6 points 23 hours ago (6 children)

~~AI~~ LLMs empower little people, too, though. They've taught me spreadsheet formulas and ways to use them at my job that I didn't even know existed. Granted, I didn't take any Excel course, and they didn't always work on their own (as expected of LLMs), but they at least gave me enough ideas to find out superior ways to manage my daily data.

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[–] mrfriki@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

And that is not a byproduct, it's like that by design.

[–] abbadon420@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

No, I whole heartedly believe that the scientists who made the first LLM, before openai got involved, did not have malicious intent.

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