Channing Allen's tweet highlights the shift from traditional manual data entry in applications like Notion, seen as 'second brains,' to advanced technologies like large language models (LLMs). Creators and technologists now leverage LLMs that not only store extensive autobiographical data but also provide richer context and insights, evolving toward a more profound 'first brain.' This advancement reflects the philosophy of transhumanism, which posits that humanity enhances itself through technology, reshaping cognitive processes and interaction with information in unprecedented ways.
Last week, I read a tweet by Channing Allen, one of the co-founders of IndieHackers, about the term "second brain." He was saying how it was kind of crazy that just a couple years ago, folks were publishing bestselling books on the brilliance of spending hours a day doing manual data entry into spreadsheet apps like Notion and calling these "brains." And over the last couple years, we've developed completely new technology for this with large language models.
That's a fascinating development, and I want to explore what this means for us as creators, founders, and humans. I'm looking at this from the perspective of a technologist, but also as someone who's seen their own work transformed by these tools in just the past year.
When I got my first phone with Internet access, I felt like all of a sudden my brain was also extended. It was extended to a point where I didn't have to rely on rote memory anymore. I could look things up and use my phone as an ever-connected data source-a kind of outsourced brain.
The Evolution of Brain Extensions In the philosophy of transhumanism-which explores where humanity is headed and how technology shapes our future-there's something called the "body extension theory." Humans are the first animals to really embrace extending their bodies through technology. I don't necessarily mean hardware tech as we software technologists use the term, but any tool use that extends and strengthens parts of the human body.
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