Someone said to me recently: you have the most interesting conversations with AI. And I thought about it, and I think they’re right. I have questions I’ve been carrying for years — things that felt too small to research, too specific to Google, too embarrassing to ask out loud. The recipe that never quite worked. The winter I remembered as a kid that was somehow worse than all the others. A Duran Duran song that made absolutely no sense. What my grandmother’s early life actually looked like. For years these just lived in the back of my head, filed under mystery — no resolution possible. AI changed that.

You Don’t Need a Polished Prompt

One of the most freeing things I’ve learned about working with AI is that you don’t need a formula. You don’t need to have researched your question first or know how to frame it perfectly. You can just ask. The question doesn’t need to be impressive. It just needs to be honest. AI is infinitely patient, it doesn’t make you feel dumb, and it can go as deep or as surface-level as you want on anything from serious research to wildly random curiosity.

Real Questions, Real Answers: What This Actually Looks Like

The recipe question: I’d had a steel-cut oat and split yellow lentil recipe for years — healthier, higher protein, you don’t taste the lentils — but it was always slightly off and I could never figure out why. I told AI what I was making, what device I was using (a Ninja Foodi pressure cooker), and what kept going wrong. It identified the problem: my water ratios were off, and I didn’t fully understand how pressure cooking changes the process compared to an open fire. It gave me a corrected recipe card, troubleshooting steps, and versions adapted for a stovetop pot and slow cooker. It also taught me how to use my own machine better.

The 1978 winter: I grew up in the Midwest and remembered one winter as being dramatically worse than anything around it. I wanted to know why. AI explained the strong La Niña pattern that year and the series of intense storm systems that stacked on top of each other. It confirmed that my childhood memory wasn’t just a feeling — it was a genuinely historic winter. Sometimes AI isn’t about learning something new. It’s about finally having confirmed something you half-remembered for decades.

The grandmother question: My grandmother was born in Lithuania, escaped with her mother to Tel Aviv when it was part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, and eventually came to America through Ellis Island. I knew she left after her father died — but AI filled in something I hadn’t known: families like hers were being expelled by the Turkish government at that time. Suddenly I understood the context of her life in a way I never had. A chance to learn what I wished I’d asked her while I still could.

The Questions Nobody Taught You to Ask

Some of what I bring to AI isn’t curiosity — it’s the kind of practical knowledge that most people get from their parents and I had to piece together on my own. How often should you wash sheets? What’s the standard way to greet someone you don’t know? How do you store food containers so the lids actually stay with the right item? These feel silly to say out loud. AI doesn’t think they’re silly. It just answers.

And then there are the rabbit holes: why does the sky turn green before a tornado? What did a specific Duran Duran lyric actually mean? I once described a song I’d heard in a bar — I knew the band, roughly the year, and that it changed tempos in a strange way — and AI identified it from that description alone.

What This Is Really About

The point isn’t any single question. The point is that most of us are walking around with more curiosity than we’ve ever had an outlet for. Things we wondered as kids. Things we assumed were wrong that turned out to be right. Things we assumed were right that turned out to be wrong. Things we were too embarrassed to ask anyone. AI is patient, specific, non-judgmental, and available at eleven o’clock at night when you’re standing in your kitchen staring at a pot that still doesn’t taste right.

You don’t need a formula. Just ask.

Jill’s Links

http://jillfromthenorthwoods.com

https://www.youtube.com/@startwithsmallsteps

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/startwithsmallsteps

https://twitter.com/schmern

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By choosing to watch this video or listen to this podcast, you acknowledge that you are doing so of your own free will. The content shared here reflects personal experiences and opinions and is intended for informational and educational purposes only. I am not a software developer, data scientist, or AI professional. Any tips, tools, or suggestions offered should not be considered a substitute for professional technical advice. AI tools and platforms change frequently — always verify current features, pricing, and terms directly with the providers. You are solely responsible for any decisions or actions you take based on this content.