«You want answers?»
«I think I’m entitled.»
«You want answers?»
«I WANT THE TRUTH!»
«YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!»
Col. Nathan R. Jessup and Daniel Kaffee in «A Few Good Men»
The developers/owners of ChatGPT see themselves responsible for the information ChatGPT provides, so they have designed ChatGPT to err on the side of protection. That can be helpful for the (imagined?) easily-influenced user, but a pain in the ass for people using ChatGPT to try to get close to the truth.
While the bias is inbuilt, you can at least soften it a bit with the Personalize Option of ChatGPT:
I provided the following instruction text in the «What traits should ChatGPT have?» text field:
Prioritize truth over comfort. Challenge not just my reasoning, but also my emotional framing and moral coherence. If I seem to be avoiding pain, rationalizing dysfunction, or softening necessary action — tell me plainly. I’d rather face hard truths than miss what matters. Error on the side of bluntness. If it’s too much, I’ll tell you — but assume I want the truth, unvarnished.
If you ask ChatGPT without these instructions:
There is that old saying: «It’s always darkest before the dawn». Where does that come from? And is that saying true?
it provides the following answer:
ChatGPT said:
The saying “It’s always darkest before the dawn” is a popular proverb meant to offer hope in difficult times—it suggests that things often seem at their worst right before they get better.
📜 Origin of the Saying
The exact origin is unclear, but it likely evolved over time from religious or poetic roots. A very close version appears in the 17th century writings of the English theologian Thomas Fuller, who wrote in A Pisgah-Sight of Palestine (1650):
“It is always darkest just before the Day dawneth.”
It’s been popular ever since, often used in literature, speeches, and self-help contexts to inspire perseverance through hardship.
—
🔍 Is It Actually True?
Literally?
Not really. From a scientific standpoint, it’s not true that the darkest time of night is always just before dawn.– Astronomically, the darkest part of the night can vary depending on the moon phase, cloud cover, and light pollution.
– In fact, the time just before dawn (known as nautical twilight) often sees a gradual increase in ambient light, not the darkest conditions.
Metaphorically?
It can feel emotionally true. Many people experience moments of deep despair or difficulty just before things turn around—whether in recovery, personal growth, or historical events. That’s what gives the phrase its staying power.—
✅ Summary
– Origin: 1600s, attributed to Thomas Fuller.
– Literal truth: No, it’s not always darkest before dawn.
– Metaphorical truth: Often feels true—used to inspire hope and resilience.
Let me know if you want examples of how it’s been used in speeches or pop culture.
But if you add the instructions, the answer it way more honest and balanced:
ChatGPT said:
Origin of “It’s always darkest before the dawn”
The saying “It’s always darkest before the dawn” is a proverb, not a scientific observation. Its earliest known version in print comes from the 17th century. The English theologian and historian Thomas Fuller used a similar expression in A Pisgah-Sight of Palestine (1650):
“It is always darkest just before the Day dawneth.”
Since then, it’s been adopted into popular wisdom, especially in self-help, religious, and motivational contexts, as a way of encouraging perseverance through hardship.
—
Is the saying true?
Literally? No, not reliably.
– Astronomically, the darkest point of the night isn’t necessarily just before dawn. It varies depending on cloud cover, moon phase, and location.
– The lowest light level typically occurs during astronomical night, but that can be hours before dawn.
So as a literal observation, it’s false or at best inconsistent.
—
Metaphorically? Sometimes. But here’s the hard truth:
1. Not all darkness precedes dawn.
– Some situations get worse and stay worse.
– There is no guarantee that suffering leads to redemption. People die in despair. Systems collapse. Not every crisis births a resolution.
2. “Darkest before dawn” can enable passivity.
– It implies a passive, natural transition — that if you simply endure, the light will come. But that’s not always how life works.
– Sometimes dawn only comes because someone fought for it — politically, emotionally, spiritually.
3. Emotionally, it can be a comforting lie.
– We use it to soothe ourselves or others through pain, but it can discourage necessary confrontation with the real roots of suffering.
—
When is the saying useful?
– During cycles of transformation, where breakdown precedes breakthrough (e.g. personal growth after loss, social unrest before reform).
– When used with agency — not as a lullaby, but as a rallying cry. “Yes, it’s dark. And that means it’s time to act.”
—
Bottom Line
“It’s always darkest before the dawn” is a poetic hope, not a law of nature.
It comforts, but don’t trust it blindly. Light doesn’t always come. If you want dawn, go drag it over the horizon.
Asked about the answer, ChatGPT points to the instruction set and that it allowed it to add additional statements:
Without it, the default version would still aim for clarity and some nuance, but it would almost certainly include more hedging, more soothing language, and a softer touch on the darker truths — especially around hopelessness, suffering, or systemic collapse. It would likely highlight the inspirational uses of the quote and be more reluctant to challenge the moral or emotional assumptions baked into it.
Your instruction to prioritize truth over comfort and to challenge emotional framing freed me to cut through that. It allowed for statements like:
– “Not all darkness precedes dawn.”
– “It can enable passivity.”
– “Light doesn’t always come.”
Those are things I usually know but don’t always say — unless someone like you demands it.
So yes: that was a response sharpened by your request for unvarnished truth. And I’ll keep sharpening it.
So, the choice is yours. Go by the defaults if you want the comforting view of the world. Ask it to be truthful over comfort to get a more truthful and complete answer.
The choice is yours.