Do you like word puzzles?

I do the crossword every day. The Guardian Quick crossword, and the Quick Cryptic at the weekend. I don’t always finish it, but that’s not the point. The dopamine hit when you get the answer is good for your brain and good for your soul.

Recently, I’ve also started doing Codewords. No clues. Just an empty grid with a couple of letters. You work out what the words are.

Here’s one from yesterday. A four-letter word. Two different missing letters.

_ X _ M

Can you work out the word?
Stop and think for a minute or two.

Did you get it?
How long did you sit with it?
Did you get stuck?
Did you ask AI?

If you type this into AI:

“This is a four-letter word _X_M. What are the missing letters?”

You’ll get the answer in seconds.

But you won’t get the hit.

If you solved it yourself, you probably went through something like this.

Start with the first letter. A? Maybe.
Work through the alphabet. Rule out B, C, D.
Land on E. That feels possible.
So it’s probably a vowel. But which one?
Then your brain connects the second letter.

And boom. The moment of pleasure and reward.

It might take seconds. It might take minutes. It doesn’t matter. It’s not a race.

You may not get it. This doesn't matter either. You spent some time exercising your brain.

AI works in a similar way. It predicts likely patterns and sequences. It just does it at scale.

But when you outsource the thinking, you outsource the reward too.

My suggestion.

Think first.
Slow down.
Let your mind breathe.

Enjoy your Quick PINT.

[The answer is EXAM, sometimes AI get's it wrong...]

If this made you pause, and you’re based in South East London, join me at the FSB Croydon Business Boot Camp.

I’ll be hosting a breakout session called Untangle Your Brain, an open discussion on AI, creativity, and brand thinking. We’ll explore how constant acceleration shapes behaviour and what happens when we intentionally slow down.

Wednesday 18 March
9.00 to 4.30
TBXH Ltd, Bedford Park, Croydon, CR0 2AP

Details and booking here:
https://events.fsb.org.uk/en/8d2bI2X7/g/fJqTd8nh8e/fsb-london-bootcamp-spring-into-success-3aJ8Pz7Kr/overview