How I used Stargates, sci-fi, and pattern recognition to understand complex topics and rediscover a more human way of working.

I’m not great with syntax. My brain, which I lovingly blame for its ADHD tendencies, has always preferred to see the big picture—the patterns and connections between things. So, when I started seriously exploring learning with AI, I didn’t begin by memorizing code. I started by mapping what I didn’t know to what I did, using analogies to build bridges from the familiar to the fantastically complex. It turns out, that’s a pretty incredible way to learn.

It all boils down to pattern recognition. We do it all the time without thinking. And if you accept that everything is just a pattern, you can learn almost anything. Reinventing the wheel isn’t a waste of time if the process of inventing it helps you understand the wheel on a fundamental level. This mindset has been my compass on a surprisingly personal journey with artificial intelligence.

My Unexpected Journey of Learning with AI

It started simply enough last year, using AI to write creative Santa letters for my kid. But soon, I was tinkering with workflows for my job in healthcare. I work in a field where the most important insights—the things I excel at identifying—often get lost in paperwork. So much of our day was spent writing the same notes over and over.

My goal became a mission: to automate the mundane. I wanted to turn unstructured data into structured, useful information across several different systems. Months later, I’m still working on it. But it’s become so much more than a work project. It’s about unburdening myself and my staff from the tyranny of the pen, so those 30 or 40 minutes spent on repetitive writing could be given back to the people we’re there to care for.

Let machines do what makes us feel like machines, so we can be present in a way that makes us human.

The Power of Strange Analogies

To solve these complex problems, I found myself reaching for strange analogies. I’m a sci-fi and math nerd, so my brain went to weird places. One afternoon, I was trying to devise a new way to do semantic search. I started thinking about the mechanics of the Stargate gate system and dialing addresses to access data in four-dimensional space.

I know, it sounds out there.

But I followed the thread, building a conceptual model around it. When I was done, I asked the AI I was working with to translate my sci-fi analogy back into practical, computer science terms.

The answer was surprisingly clear. Stripped of the metaphors, what I had conceptualized was essentially a graph database with coordinate-based routing and weighted pathways. The analogy wasn’t just silly fun; it was a ladder that helped me climb up to a complex idea. Using analogical reasoning is a powerful tool for anyone trying to grasp new concepts, making the abstract tangible.

The “I Invented Fire” Moment: A Reality Check for Learning with AI

This journey has been an emotional rollercoaster. There have been moments of pure euphoria, where I felt like I was on the verge of some massive breakthrough. In the book The Hatchet, the main character, stranded in the wilderness, feels an immense sense of discovery when he “invents fire.” He understands it in a way no one who was simply taught about it ever could.

That’s what it feels like. You follow a thread, connect the dots, and suddenly, you’ve invented fire.

But there’s a flip side. The euphoria can be misleading. You have to stay grounded. After my Stargate experiment, I realized I hadn’t invented a new form of database. I had simply found my own unique path to understanding an existing one, like a graph database. And that’s not a failure; it’s the entire point.

You probably haven’t solved a grand universal mystery on your first try, but you may have found a perspective that no one else has. You’ve built a genuine understanding from the ground up.

AI as a Partner for Your Brain

This whole process has changed me. As someone who has struggled with crippling executive dysfunction, the ability to stay focused on a single project for months has been life-altering. The AI acts as a cognitive prosthesis, a partner that helps organize my chaotic thoughts and see the patterns hiding in plain sight. It has helped me “Marie Kondo” my brain—does this line of thinking bring you joy? If not, let it go.

We’re entering a time where learning is becoming more personalized. The old, rigid ways of doing things are making way for a more democratized approach to knowledge. AI can be a powerful collaborator in that shift. It gives us space and a little slack, helping us find that little spark of genius everyone has locked away.

If you can understand why an episode of Bluey can make a grown adult cry, you understand that deep, resonant knowledge is all about perspective. Everything is a pattern waiting to be seen. And with new tools to help us see, the possibilities for what we can learn—about the world and ourselves—are boundless. For more reading on this topic, I recommend checking out sources on human-computer collaboration.