Hacker News with Generative AI: Creativity

Thoughts on thinking (dcurt.is)
I have been stuck. Every time I sit down to write a blog post, code a feature, or start a project, I come to the same realization: in the context of AI, what I’m doing is a waste of time. It’s horrifying. The fun has been sucked out of the process of creation because nothing I make organically can compete with what AI already produces—or soon will.
Generative AI, Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Productivity
721 points by bradgessler 22 days ago | 438 comments
The Compound Interest of Small Ideas (chrbutler.com)
When it comes to thinking, we’ve been sold a high-risk investment strategy. Our cultural narratives around innovation celebrate the breakthrough, the paradigm shift, the disruptive, revolutionary * concept that changes everything overnight.
Innovation, Ideas, Thinking, Creativity
5 points by delaugust 27 days ago | 0 comments
Creativity came to pass (vale.rocks)
This is written of a future. Not the future, but a future – one of many possibilities.
Future, Creativity, Speculative Fiction
33 points by clacker-o-matic 32 days ago | 19 comments
The Creative Power of Constraints (arun.is)
One of the most marvelous aspects of the human experience is creativity. Yet, for those in the business of creativity, the creative act can be both the most rewarding and the most frustrating experience in life. Sometimes the mind is drenched in free, flowing ideas. Other times, the mind feels just like a desert, producing nothing.
Creativity, Constraints, Psychology, Human Experience
34 points by zhenpixels 33 days ago | 10 comments
Unparalleled Misalignments (rickiheicklen.com)
This is where I maintain a list of Unparalleled Misalignments (formerly quadruple entendres), pairs of non-synonymous phrases where the words in one phrase are each synonyms of the words in the other.
Language, Wordplay, Linguistics, Vocabulary, Creativity
149 points by ChadNauseam 34 days ago | 31 comments
I'd rather read the prompt (claytonwramsey.com)
I write this article as a plea to everyone: not just my students, but the blog posters and Reddit commenters and weak-accept paper authors and Reviewer 2. Don’t let a computer write for you! I say this not for reasons of intellectual honesty, or for the spirit of fairness. I say this because I believe that your original thoughts are far more interesting, meaningful, and valuable than whatever a large language model can transform them into.
Writing, AI, Education, Creativity
1444 points by claytonwramsey 34 days ago | 840 comments
The Craft 001: A conversation about craft, code, and freedom with Neal Agarwal (workingtheorys.com)
In the age of slop, craft is rebellion.
Coding, Freedom, Creativity, Interviews
47 points by gripewater 36 days ago | 1 comments
Read the Obits (mitpress.mit.edu)
Reading obituaries can boost creativity by exposing you to distant ideas, fueling the associations that lead to unexpected breakthroughs.
Creativity, Reading, Obituaries
279 points by EA-3167 41 days ago | 123 comments
In the age of AI, we must protect human creativity as a natural resource (arstechnica.com)
Ironically, our present AI age has shone a bright spotlight on the immense value of human creativity as breakthroughs in technology threaten to undermine it.
Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Human Rights, Technology
26 points by wizardforhire 43 days ago | 5 comments
You Can Be a Great Designer and Be Completely Unknown (chrbutler.com)
I often find myself contemplating the greatest creators in history — those rare artists, designers, and thinkers whose work transformed how we see the world. What constellation of circumstances made them who they were? Where did their ideas originate? Who mentored them? Would history remember them had they lived in a different time or place?
Design, Creativity, History
257 points by delaugust 44 days ago | 120 comments
Sustain your creative drive in the face of technological change (thecreativeindependent.com)
The Creative Independent is a vast resource of emotional and practical guidance. We publish Guides, Focuses, Tips, Interviews, and more to help you thrive as a creative person. Explore our website to find wisdom that speaks to you and your practice…
Creativity, Technology, Self-Improvement
148 points by adityaathalye 46 days ago | 12 comments
The AI skeptic's guide to AI collaboration (hils.substack.com)
The people who are most skeptical of AI are often those with the highest standards for quality. They've spent years honing their craft and see their work as deeply personal. To them, AI-produced work feels empty and soulless.
Artificial Intelligence, Skepticism, Collaboration, Creativity
47 points by swyx 48 days ago | 58 comments
Information and data will never deliver creativity (iai.tv)
Many claim informational systems cannot be truly creative in the way human artists are because they lack human emotion and originality. But philosopher and cognitive scientist, Hanne De Jaegher, argues the issue is deeper still: AI is not alive. It has no will to live and to ensure its survival. Unlike humans, AI doesn’t desire, need, relate, or make sense of the world and what matters in it.
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy, Creativity
7 points by handfuloflight 60 days ago | 0 comments
AI is the kill switch on the human imagination (gavinchalcraft.substack.com)
For those of you who have read my previous articles you will no doubt be familiar with a phrase I have often repeated, perhaps ad nauseam. That phrase is: AI is the kill switch on the human imagination, self determination and Self-Realization.
Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Humanity
30 points by drcwpl 63 days ago | 11 comments
An image of an archeologist adventurer who wears a hat and uses a bullwhip (theaiunderwriter.substack.com)
There is only one thing worse than being imitated, and that is not being imitated.
Art, Creativity, Inspiration
1503 points by participant3 65 days ago | 898 comments
Show HN: Online tool to show white fullscreen page (mywhitescreen.com)
A white screen might seem simple, but it has countless practical uses in daily life. From creative projects to productivity hacks, here is how people make the most of a white screen:
Online Tools, Productivity, Creativity
8 points by atharvtathe 69 days ago | 3 comments
Everything I learned from (finally) completing The Artist's Way (extraordinaryroutines.com)
Maybe you’ve heard people referring to the morning pages or talking about going on an artist date. Maybe you’ve just started reading the first few chapters, or adopted some of its core practices into your daily routine. Maybe you’ve abandoned it halfway through, or dipped in and out, or even completed the entire twelve-week course.
Self-Help, Books, Creativity
14 points by cf100clunk 76 days ago | 1 comments
Wheel Reinventor’s Principles (2024) (tobloef.com)
The Wheel Reinventor enjoys reinventing wheels. A lot of wheels have been invented before, some are even very popular. So why does the Wheel Reinventor make new ones?
Software Development, Philosophy, Creativity
213 points by TobLoef 78 days ago | 98 comments
Ask HN: I lack imagination for electronics projects (ycombinator.com)
I love to learn about programming, protocols, these or that technical specification, how to make things work, etc.<p>However, I not only lack imagination of what I could use this for in the real world, I also don't get a kick out of seeing the final thing.
Programming, Electronics, Creativity, Maker Projects
10 points by throwawayqw 87 days ago | 5 comments
Youth and what happens when it's gone (tolstoyan.substack.com)
When he was in his early-20s, he hung a timeline above his desk. He had drawn it himself, meticulously, with a ruler and professional illustration pen. It spanned from 18 to 30, and he glue-sticked little pictures of his favorite authors next to the age at which they’d published their first novels. At 21, Bret Easton Ellis. At 24, Martin Amis. At 25, Michael Chabon and Zadie Smith. At 26, Philip Roth. At 27, John Updike.
Writing, Literature, Age, Creativity, Authors
339 points by mattgreenrocks 96 days ago | 229 comments
The Empty Promise of AI-Generated Creativity (hey.paris)
“Are you going to add AI writing to Yarn Spinner?” It’s a question I hear almost weekly these days. Whether at game development conferences, online, or during meetings, there’s an assumption that every tool is racing to implement some form of generative AI. I understand the curiosity—we’re living through an unprecedented wave of AI hype, and there’s genuine confusion about where these technologies might fit into creative processes.
Generative AI, Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Software, Writing
13 points by parisidau 97 days ago | 1 comments
Write to Escape Your Default Setting (kupajo.com)
For those of us with woefully average gray matter, our minds have limited reach. For the past, they are enthusiastic but incompetent archivists. In the present, they reach for the most provocative fragments of ideas, often preferring distraction over clarity.
Writing, Creativity, Thought Processes, Cognition
407 points by kolyder 99 days ago | 93 comments
Allow me to explain this absurd thing on my head (made by 3D printer, not Apple) (twitter.com)
3D Printing, Creativity, Humor
7 points by tosh 108 days ago | 6 comments
What enabled us to create AI is the thing it has the power to erase (chrbutler.com)
I still have dozens of sketchbooks, many filled with ideas for logos, layouts, and other designs. These pages don’t just capture fully realized images, albeit sketches. They capture an entire process of thinking –the false starts, the unexpected discoveries, the gradual, iterative refinement of ideas. Today, those same explorations can, if you choose, be reduced to a single prompt: “Generate a minimal, modern wordmark for a SaaS product called _____.”
Artificial Intelligence, Design, Creativity, Generative AI
84 points by delaugust 115 days ago | 109 comments
Gravitron: Gravity is your only weapon (jaredforsyth.com)
Game Development, Physics, Creativity
6 points by memalign 119 days ago | 2 comments
Insomnia, Control (sonnet.io)
I'm trying to get back into a regular posting schedule, so I hope you won't mind keeping things a bit less techy for a minute (or sixty). I'll do my best to follow the rules of this site: spark your curiosity, entertain you or, at the very least, inspire you (because you'll realise you can do it even better!).
Personal Essays, Writing, Creativity
72 points by rpastuszak 122 days ago | 41 comments
The Power of Poetry: Why Everyone Should Write (domofutu.substack.com)
In an age of rapid communication—where texts, tweets, and emojis can dominate our daily interactions—poetry might seem like an outdated relic. But in reality, poetry offers something rare and essential: a space for deep thought, emotional exploration, and creative expression.
Poetry, Writing, Communication, Creativity
14 points by domofutu 126 days ago | 11 comments
GenAI Art Is the Least Imaginative Use of AI Imaginable (hai.stanford.edu)
The prevailing public mindset that AI is only a labor-saving tool betrays a lack of understanding of why people create and a lack of imagination of this technology's potential.
Generative AI, Artificial Intelligence, Art, Creativity
138 points by jebarker 127 days ago | 143 comments
YueAI – Create Professional Music with AI, No Musical Expertise Required (yueai.art)
Turn your musical ideas into reality with our advanced AI technology. No musical expertise required - just your creativity.
Music, Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Music Production
12 points by alexzn596 130 days ago | 8 comments
Life Without Limits: A Blind Maker's Take on 3D Printing (hackaday.com)
In the world of creation, few stories inspire as much as [Mrblindguardian], a 33-year-old who has been blind since the age of two, but refuses to let that hold him back. Using OpenSCAD and a 3D printer, [Mrblindguardian] designs and prints models independently, relying on speech software and touch to bring his ideas to life. His story, published on his website Accessible3D.io, is a call to action for makers to embrace accessibility in their designs and tools.
Accessibility, 3D Printing, Blindness, Design, Creativity
3 points by simojo 148 days ago | 0 comments