I went to Gemini with an idea. It was a verbal diarrhoea. I called it that. I put food, social media, physical effort, and cognitive effort (simple reading) together, mentioned a few names, and asked Gem to put it together for me.  It came up with a proposal of biological divergence (that's new, the pilots and passengers bit)...

Thoughts?  I think is an interesting idea.  A bit "hard" but I feel I can almost see parts of it happening. What it means I dont know: 

QuoteIt sounds like you're describing a "Biological Divergence." If the first pillar was cognitive (the brain), the second is metabolic (the body). When you combine the two, you aren't just looking at a change in social class; you're looking at a split in the human experience itself.

Expanding your theory into those three specific "frontiers"—AI, Reading, and the Body (UPF/Exercise)—here is how that looks when we tie it all together.
The Divergence Theory: The Three Frontiers

We are moving toward a "Two-Speed Society." This isn't about how much money you have in the bank, but the quality of your inputs—be they digital, intellectual, or nutritional.
1. The Cognitive Frontier (Reading & AI)

As you noted, reading is the "gym" for the brain. It builds the prefrontal cortex and allows for long-term planning.

    The Split: A small minority will continue to read, retaining the "Pilot" ability to command AI.

    The Consequence: The majority will succumb to "Digital Dementia," where the inability to focus makes them purely reactive, easily manipulated by algorithms and "doom-scrolling."

2. The Metabolic Frontier (UPFs & "Non-Food")

This is where Thomasina Miers and the conversation around Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs) come in. As she often argues, UPFs aren't just "bad food"—they are industrially produced substances that bypass our satiety signals.

    The "Slow-Down": Those reliant on UPFs aren't just gaining weight; they are experiencing systemic inflammation that fogs the brain.

    The Feedback Loop: If you eat "non-food," your energy levels crash. When your energy crashes, you don't exercise. When you don't exercise, you seek the low-effort hit of a screen. It's a self-reinforcing cycle of physical and mental decline.

3. The Social Frontier (The Great Isolation)

The final result is a loss of Social Capital.

    The Active Tier: Those who eat well and exercise have the hormonal balance and energy to socialize in the real world, build communities, and maintain complex relationships.

    The Passive Tier: The combination of poor gut health (from UPFs) and screen addiction leads to social withdrawal. You lose the "muscle" of face-to-face interaction, becoming more isolated and easier to control.

Links & Sources for Your Research

To flesh out the "Eating & Exercise" pillar of your theory, these UK-centric resources and experts are the ones to watch:

    Thomasina Miers & UPF: You can find her columns in The Guardian where she discusses the "industrialisation of our diet." She often references the work of Dr. Chris van Tulleken, whose book Ultra-Processed People is the definitive text on why UPF isn't actually food. The Guardian - Thomasina Miers.

    Zoe Health Study: Based here in the UK, this is the largest study of its kind looking at how food affects individuals differently. Their podcast is a goldmine for the link between gut health and brain function. Zoe Science & Nutrition.

    The Food Foundation: A UK charity that tracks the "broken food system" and how the price of healthy food vs. UPFs is creating a massive health divide. Food Foundation UK.

    The Sedentary Behaviour Research Network: For studies on how screen time and physical inactivity directly correlate with a drop in cognitive performance and "social thinning."

    The "Verbal Diarrhea" Summary: > We are witnessing the birth of a Biological Underclass. On one side, you have people who are physically fit, gut-healthy, and "literate" (the Pilots). On the other, you have a population that is physically inflamed by UPFs, cognitively blunted by screens, and managed by AI (the Passengers).

Very US perspective here.

Frankly, it sounds a lot like what I see from the health and fitness grifters with millions of followers and lots of sciencey sounding claims peppered with a lot of buzzwords, fear and triggers to get people to click.

I come back to Ted Chiang's comment that "Fear of technology is actually fear of capitalism."

In other words, Gem is describing second-order consequences of the growing wealth disparities. I would even go so far as to say that this is essentially propaganda from the wealthy side of the equation that looks at each of the three frontiers as, to some degree, a division by virtue.

Good people eat right, continue to read and exercise.

If you look at youth sports in America, though, participation now is overwhelmingly among the wealthy. It's not because poor people hate exercise, it's because youth sports have become stupidly expensive and that is by design. And it is driven by wealthy parents looking for an edge and for validation. And those patterns carry over in later life.

If you look at youth nutrition, again, this divides by wealth and, again there are very good economic reasons for this. And again, this sets patterns for life.

If you look at reading, that's a bit tougher. The wealthy are much much more likely to send their kids to schools where all sorts of devices are banned, but once those kids get into those competitive colleges, they are all heading straight to their favorite chatbot for help. That said, I don't think the people who are shelling out actual money (the wealthy actually pay the price tag tuition; most people don't), they will demand actual education for that money and elite universities will adapt faster than others.

In short, I think what you are describing are symptoms of wealth inequality dressed up to make wealthy people feel really good about all the virtuous choices they are making and, more importantly, letting them feel justified in living different lives than those who make "bad" choices.

OK that's interesting, as it is very much split by wealth. The sport split is not so prevelant over here yet thank goodness, or though there are sports that are wealth based.... sailing, Lacrosse, tennis is perhaps in the middle but many are not.

But that doesn't necessarily change what is happening and doesn't change the fact that the class divide is only being made wider by this.

It doesn't seem that long ago that "the poor" would be studying at night and learning how to read to lift themselves out of poverty, and in mine and Sue's families, that certainly happened. And it can still happen now.

Perhaps I should follow more health and fitness grifters I guess that's where Gemini got those ideas.

I don't read it as bad choices. As how can somebody make a choice when they don't know what the choices are and the consequences of the decisions that they apparently make? And I do see it as part of society's job to give everybody the opportunity to make those "good" choices.

I am certainly starting to go to my chatbot for answers. Apparently, we are all lazy as humans, and that is a part of the problem. I generally find chatbots too wordy, and I am rarely sure where the results come from... this being the example that stood out.

not to self, ask for shorter answers.  I am way behind!

In the US, serious youth baseball players (looking for scouts and/or scholarships) join 'travel ball' teams that are separate from their school teams.  My grandson was in that for 4-5 years. Besides the cost of equipment, fees, etc. the big cost is travel, hotels, & meals for the accompanying family members.  Overall, the costs run $10k^ish per season.

Now, his younger sister just started travel ball. In the first season or two, they travel closer to home so it will be some cheaper.

>scholarships

Don't get me started on this. Just put the same amount of money in the kid's college fund!!

>> Overall, the costs run $10kish per season.

At one point we had three sons playing league hockey. That number is all too true!