INFORMATION OVERLOAD, BEING LOST IN SAUCE, AND WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM GUCCI MANE

Over the last decade the world has seen exponential improvements in technology, with each new form of tech further opening the floodgates of human processing power.

What this means for us is we are ever closer to the singularity. Where rapid, exponential growth in AI and Tech creates access to infinite knowledge instantaneously and ultimately leaving the future development of humanity in an inherently volatile and unpredictable state.

The singularity, as described by Ray Kurzweil in his 2005 book "The Singularity is Near", represents technological advancements in relation to time and its relation to human development

Access to information with relative ease is an amazing tool that has been used for a wide range of positive outcomes. However, in the ever-growing online Health, wellness, and fitness space there is a clear downside to this phenomenon,

How do we know what is true? With lots of information, comes lots of misrepresentations of the truth. Spend some time on social media and you'll start to see more and more "out there" takes on everything ranging from nutrition to how you should live and train.

The reality is most of us, unless you're well versed in research and current consensus in a given field, it can be extremely difficult to discern what information is actually GOOD information.

Especially because now, we have an influx of people who are smooth talkers, they present their ideas in a way that convinces many of their certainty. With appeals to authority, misrepresenting data and research to make it appear as though it supports their claims. It can become near impossible for the majority of information consumers to discern quality information from the digital snake oils salesman

Gucci Mane said in an interview years ago "If a man does not have sauce, then he is lost. But the same man can get lost in the sauce.” I find this quote to be especially fitting for this post

Even though we are still encroaching on the singularity we can already be considered "lost in the sauce". Too much information (sauce) and no means of filtering any of it out. But without any sauce - it's hard to know how to train, what to eat etc.

This is why in the age of emerging AI technologies and information overload it is more important than ever to have a coach who can help you navigate this space. A good coach has spent time learning and understanding, applying their knowledge and refining it over years. This makes them more equipped to filter and assess new information, weigh it against known knowns and determine its validity and utility in the specific context of the given client or athlete.

So, for those who increasingly rely social media platforms as a source of health information, be aware of the very likely possibility that the information you're absorbing lacks nuance and context and is being used as a means to sell rather than inform. If you're a serial ChatGPT user for health and training information be aware, AI currently struggles to provide good quality information, and some research on its accuracy has shown it downright fabricates information in an attempt to satisfy users' requests.

These aren't inherently obvious to the untrained eyes; logical fallacies run rampant disguised as high quality information and inadvertently lead us down a winding road that leads us no closer to our end goals.

Going at it alone is hard enough, and with the amount of information out there, it can seem even harder despite our advances in knowledge and tech. Sometimes the best place to start is a conversation with a trusted coach and restoring some faith in the "experts" who have, at the very least, dedicated years of their lives to understanding the intricacies and nuances of their field.