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I asked it to break down eating a pie, this is what I got: Choose a pie Gather necessary utensils (fork, plate, napkin) Place the pie on the plate Cut a sli

I asked it to break down eating a pie, this is what I got: Choose a pie Gather necessary utensils (fork, plate, napkin) Place the pie on the plate Cut a slice of the pie Pick up the slice with the fork Bring the slice to your mouth Take a bite of the pie Chew and savor the flavor Repeat until finished Dispose of any leftovers responsibly Clean up the utensils and plate Maybe an absurd example but I feel like something like this makes it seem even more intimidating to do basic tasks

ziddoap 2y ago
You can adjust the spiciness level (level of detail) to the right of the prompt. At the lowest you get - Select a pie - Grab a fork or your hands - Take a piece of the pie - Bring it to your mouth - Chew and swallow the pie Still probably a bit much, but I think using a to-do list for eating a pie is also a bit much. I did "get a haircut" and it was a pretty good breakdown. Same with "Paint a room in my house". I think these types of tasks are more suitable for step-by-step breakdowns than "eat a pie".
- BigGreenJorts 2y ago
  > still probably a bit much I think what's worse is that it still over detailed the steps but left out the actually additive steps of the OP's list which I would say is the bit about the getting/cleaning the dishes and trash
n4r9 2y ago
If you want to see a really intimidating breakdown, check out Carl Sagan's approach to baking an apple pie from scratch.
- gs17 2y ago
  I asked it for that, but it refused to estimate the time required to "Conceptualize the universe and its fundamental laws to create the framework for matter and energy."
flobosg 2y ago
Vaguely related: Julio Cortázar’s “Instructions on How to Climb a Staircase” – https://doarchstairs2016.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/arch-251-cortazar-instructions-on-how-to-climb-a-staircase.pdf#page=3 https://doarchstairs2016.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/20...
sundarurfriend 2y ago
That sounds perfect to me. Often on low-spoons days, I'll ask ChatGPT to do exactly this, break down a task or recipe into the simplest, concrete steps to be taken. It's meant to be used when your mental energy is low enough that "obvious" things don't seem obvious anymore, and you need them broken down into a form that doesn't assume or ask anything of you. It's like taking an old school BASIC program and modularising it into small self-contained functions. That may increase the lines of code by a lot, but it still makes it simpler and easier to process because you only need to keep one function in mind at a time.
layer8 2y ago
It sounds like eating a pie will be a huge pain and I’ll give up halfway through it, assuming that I don’t get distracted even before.
edaemon 2y ago
Hm, these instructions are interesting -- is it suggesting I repeatedly pick up an entire slice of pie with a fork and take bites out of it?
gs17 2y ago
And then if you asked for a time estimate it would probably take hours to eat that slice. (not mocking the app, I like the idea, I just think its estimation feature is funny)
Groxx 2y ago
I enjoyed reading my >30-step process to boil water, which included "wait for the water to come to a boil", and the final step was "review all steps".

ziddoap 2y ago

You can adjust the spiciness level (level of detail) to the right of the prompt. At the lowest you get - Select a pie - Grab a fork or your hands - Take a piece of the pie - Bring it to your mouth - Chew and swallow the pie Still probably a bit much, but I think using a to-do list for eating a pie is also a bit much. I did "get a haircut" and it was a pretty good breakdown. Same with "Paint a room in my house". I think these types of tasks are more suitable for step-by-step breakdowns than "eat a pie".

BigGreenJorts 2y ago
> still probably a bit much I think what's worse is that it still over detailed the steps but left out the actually additive steps of the OP's list which I would say is the bit about the getting/cleaning the dishes and trash

n4r9 2y ago

If you want to see a really intimidating breakdown, check out Carl Sagan's approach to baking an apple pie from scratch.

gs17 2y ago
I asked it for that, but it refused to estimate the time required to "Conceptualize the universe and its fundamental laws to create the framework for matter and energy."

flobosg 2y ago

Vaguely related: Julio Cortázar’s “Instructions on How to Climb a Staircase” – https://doarchstairs2016.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/arch-251-cortazar-instructions-on-how-to-climb-a-staircase.pdf#page=3 https://doarchstairs2016.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/20...

sundarurfriend 2y ago

That sounds perfect to me. Often on low-spoons days, I'll ask ChatGPT to do exactly this, break down a task or recipe into the simplest, concrete steps to be taken. It's meant to be used when your mental energy is low enough that "obvious" things don't seem obvious anymore, and you need them broken down into a form that doesn't assume or ask anything of you. It's like taking an old school BASIC program and modularising it into small self-contained functions. That may increase the lines of code by a lot, but it still makes it simpler and easier to process because you only need to keep one function in mind at a time.

layer8 2y ago

It sounds like eating a pie will be a huge pain and I’ll give up halfway through it, assuming that I don’t get distracted even before.

edaemon 2y ago

Hm, these instructions are interesting -- is it suggesting I repeatedly pick up an entire slice of pie with a fork and take bites out of it?

gs17 2y ago

And then if you asked for a time estimate it would probably take hours to eat that slice. (not mocking the app, I like the idea, I just think its estimation feature is funny)

Groxx 2y ago

I enjoyed reading my >30-step process to boil water, which included "wait for the water to come to a boil", and the final step was "review all steps".