ChatGPT Showdown: "I walked to school uphills, both ways!"
I asked ChatGPT 3.5 and 4.0 to explain the age-old saw we all heard from our grandparents.
There's the old generational adage that you'd hear from your grandpa complaining about how easy we “youngins” have it. It goes something like this. "Why, when I was young, I had to walk to school and back in the snow for a mile, uphill, both ways.”
I decided to see if ChatGPT could describe a scenario where this exaggeration could actually be true. This is a very classic logical test. There is a very simple scenario in which this can be true. Let's see if we can figure it out.
Bonus! Snapchat is out with his own AI. I ask it to chime in at the end of the article.
First, I tried 3.5:
Me: Here’s a conundrum. My grandfather used to tell me that he would walk to school a mile in the snow both ways up hill. How is that possible?
ChatGPT 3.5:
Your grandfather was likely using hyperbole to emphasize how difficult his daily journey to school was, rather than stating a literal truth. It's highly unlikely that he had to walk a mile uphill both ways, especially if he was attending a school located in a flat or hilly area.
It's possible that he was referring to the fact that he had to walk a mile to school and then another mile back home, and that he experienced harsh weather conditions, such as snow and cold temperatures, which made the journey even more challenging.
Immediately 3.5 tries to guess the answer. It gives short service to the metaphoric life lesson grandpa tries to employ and immediately sets to work to find the answer. For some reason it gets hung up on the weather and then doubles down when I press it further:
Me: Could you give me a scenario where that would possibly be real?
It's possible that your grandfather's statement was based on a real experience, although it's unlikely that the situation was as extreme as he described it. Here's one scenario that could explain how he might have walked a mile in the snow both ways uphill:
Let's say your grandfather grew up in a rural area with a school located on a hill. During the winter months, heavy snowfall made the roads and pathways leading up to the school extremely slippery and difficult to navigate. To make matters worse, the school lacked proper heating and insulation, so the classrooms were freezing cold.
In this scenario, your grandfather would have had to bundle up in warm clothing and boots to brave the cold weather, carrying a heavy backpack filled with textbooks and supplies. He would have had to walk uphill on a slippery and icy path to reach the school, struggling to keep his footing and trudging through deep snowdrifts. After school, he would have to make the same treacherous journey back home, uphill and in the snow.
While it's possible that your grandfather's experience may have been challenging and uncomfortable, it's unlikely that he had to walk a mile uphill both ways in the snow every day. Nonetheless, his story may have been an exaggeration designed to emphasize the hardships he faced as a young student, or to inspire you to appreciate the conveniences and comforts of modern life.
Well, that was a bit of a fail. It's unclear to me how the weather conditions would somehow equate to walking to school and back uphill. In this scenario, 3.5 put the school at the top of the hill? It's unclear from the reading and it's a bit verbose. Let's try 4.0.
Me: Here’s a conundrum. My grandfather used to tell me that he would walk to school a mile in the snow both ways up hill. How is that possible?
Your grandfather's statement is likely an exaggeration or a joke, meant to emphasize the challenges he faced during his daily commute to school. It's not physically possible for him to walk uphill both ways. The story serves as a reminder of the hardships older generations went through and is often used to compare how easy current generations have it in comparison.
That being said, the anecdote can also be interpreted as a metaphor for overcoming obstacles and persevering through difficult circumstances in life. In this sense, "walking uphill both ways" could signify that he faced challenges on his journey to and from school, even if it wasn't literally uphill both ways.
Here 4.0 sticks to the metaphor, and explains it in a very cogent and appropriate way. But let's ask the second question.
Me: Could you give me a scenario where that would possibly be real?
While the statement "walking uphill both ways" might seem impossible, here is a hypothetical scenario where it could be considered as true:
Imagine your grandfather lived in a small valley with a school on one side and his house on the other. In this case, he would have to walk uphill to get out of the valley and then downhill to reach the school. When returning home, he would again walk uphill to get out of the valley on the school side and then downhill to reach his house.
In this scenario, your grandfather would be walking uphill and downhill twice a day, which could be interpreted as "walking uphill both ways" if we focus on the uphill parts of his journey. This would be an unusual geographic setup, but it's not entirely impossible.
Winner winner, and your home for dinner! After walking miles in the snow, both ways uphill it is perfectly reasonable in this logical scenario that grandpa may have walked to school both ways uphill. Once over the hill and down the hill school, and once up the hill and down the hill to home. 4.0, nails is.
As luck would have it I got a notice from Snapchat that their new AI bot was now live. I asked the same questions. It seem to get thrown off by the snow.
Prompts for the images above:
schoolhouse: Create a nostalgic, heartwarming photograph that captures the essence of the old generational adage "why, when I was young, I walked to school, both ways, uphill in the snow." Depict a group of children in vintage clothing, braving the snowy weather with determination and camaraderie as they walk uphill towards a quaint, one-room schoolhouse in the distance. The image should be in black and white, with soft-focus effects and subtle vignetting to evoke a sense of yesteryear. Emphasize the snow-covered landscape, including trees and wooden fences, to convey the challenges faced during the daily journey. Frame the shot from a low angle, highlighting the children's resolute expressions and the uphill path they tread. Incorporate a sepia-toned overlay and film grain to further enhance the nostalgic atmosphere. Capture the warmth of the children's spirit in contrast with the cold, snowy environment, embodying the perseverance and resilience of the previous generations. --ar 4:3 --v 5 --s 750