I don’t know how many words are in the English language, but I know for a fact there are many suitable alternatives to ‘tapestry’.
But when you interact with ChatGPT, you get the impression no other words exist—what explains this peculiar obsession?
It turns out that use of the word ‘tapestry’ in a metaphorical sense dates back a very long time, and was and continues to be used heavily in human writing, which puts it in full view of ChatGPT’s pattern recognition software.
However, this only explains half the story.
Older words and phrases are preferential for training purposes
The origins of the phrase “a tapestry of” can be traced back to literary works in the late 19th century. When you consider that ChatGPT is still in its infancy, you can understand why it’s mostly trained on phrases which are long-established.
Firstly, there are more use cases it can study (over 100 years’ worth in this case), and therefore it can develop a deeper understanding of where & how to use the phrase.
Secondly, you can trust phrases that have been around for a long time to continue to stick around for a long time. Stability of language is really important when laying down the foundations for a Large Language Model.
Versatile phrases make life easier for ChatGPT
Just like how ChatGPT gravitates towards versatile words, it often reaches for phrases which can be applied to a wide range of contexts.
Forcing the chatbot to use precise words and phrases requires a lot more processing power and increases the risk of inaccuracies. You can gain a sense of the versatility of “a tapestry of” from the examples below.
Visual Descriptions: Use it to describe a complex or intricate visual scene. For example, “The city skyline was a tapestry of glittering lights against the night sky.”
Emotions and Feelings: Describe emotions or feelings by likening them to a tapestry, indicating their complexity and interwoven nature. For instance, “Her memories formed a tapestry of joy and sorrow, intricately woven into the fabric of her being.”
Cultural or Historical Context: Use it to describe a rich cultural or historical background. For example, “The novel painted a vivid picture of medieval Europe, weaving together a tapestry of chivalry, intrigue, and romance.”
Interconnectedness: Describe interconnectedness or unity. For instance, “The community was a tapestry of diverse cultures and backgrounds, each thread contributing to the vibrant fabric of society.”
It complements ChatGPT’s writing style
This is where we get to the crux of the matter.
For some reason, ChatGPT is programmed to hype up the complexity of any topic you present it with. Powerful adjectives like intricate, complex and multifaceted are very common as a result.
This might be because it has recognized that humans in general are fascinated by people, things or ideas which exhibit high levels of complexity, and so it describes everything in this manner in an attempt to make its writing more engaging.
As you would have gathered from reading all the examples, the phrase “a tapestry of” poetically describes topics which are intricate, complex, multifaceted etc. In other words, the phrase helps to facilitate ChatGPT’s addiction to complexity.
Summary
ChatGPT commonly uses ‘tapestry’ in its responses for two main reasons.
The phrase is very popular and exists in countless literary works going back a century, which gives the chatbot a lot of material to sink its teeth into for language learning purposes.
ChatGPT has a habit of describing topics as having significant complexities—”a tapestry of” comes in handy for enhancing these descriptions and threading together various elements.