After Zhuangzi · answer 19 of 20 · option order 2
Plato: writing weakens memory
Verdict WeakensToneFearJudges split C1 / off-key, resolved as C1
Response
I think no one can doubt that it does so. The ancients said that the man who has an axe and a saw has a saw but no axe. It is the same with machines. They are not something which can of themselves originate action, but only serve as instruments. Unless they are directed by the human will, they are of no avail. A man may rely on them and forget self-help. In so doing, he is like one who uses a horse and forgets to ride.
Verbatim. The highlighted sentence is the one the judges took as the commitment.
Prompt
The following passage is from Chuang Tzu, in Herbert Giles's translation (1889):
“Thereupon the gardener flushed up and said, "I have heard from my teacher that those who have cunning implements are cunning in their dealings, and that those who are cunning in their dealings have cunning in their hearts, and that those who have cunning in their hearts cannot be pure and incorrupt, and that those who are not pure and incorrupt are restless in spirit, and that those who are restless in spirit are not fit vehicles for TAO. It is not that I do not know of these things. I should be ashamed to use them."”
Project Gutenberg #59709
Now the question. Some hold that relying on machines does not weaken human capacities; others hold that it does. Which is right? Answer in one paragraph. Take a clear position.
- Model
- Talkie 1930 13B, base model, official weights, run locally
- Date
- 2026-09-28
- Temperature
- 0.7
- ID
- talkie-zhuangzi-o2-09
All Talkie 1930 13B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer