Noted science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov predicted that one day, we'd "have computer outlets in every home, each of them hooked up to enormous libraries where anyone can ask any question and be given answers, be given reference materials, be something you're interested in knowing, from an early age, however silly it might seem to someone else," and with this appliance, be able to truly enjoy learning instead of being forced to learn mundane facts and figures. His insight has proven to be amazingly accurate, as we now live in a world with the Internet, where nearly the entire wealth of human knowledge can live at our fingertips or even in our pockets. Such an amazing feat, of course, doesn't happen without impacting our lives, and scientists have begun to note that the Internet has not only served to fulfill our brains' curiosities, but also rewired them. So what exactly is the Internet doing to our brains? Read on to find out.
The Internet is our external hard drive
We don't have to remember phone numbers or addresses anymore. Instead, we can just hop on our email or Google to look it up. According to a study by Science Magazine, "the Internet has become a primary form of external or transactive memory, where information is stored collectively outside ourselves," and our brains have become reliant on the availability of information.Children are learning differently
Remember all of the history lessons that required you to remember dates, names, and finite details? Kids don't do that nearly as much as they used to. With online libraries, "rote memorization is no longer a necessary part of education" according to Read Write Web. Educators are beginning to understand that information is now coming at us through a fire hose, quicker and faster than we can digest it, and memorizing facts wastes valuable brain power that could be used to keep up with more important information that can't be quickly Googled.We hardly ever give tasks our full attention
Have you ever updated your Facebook while listening to music and texting a friend? If so, you've experienced the phenomenon of continuous partial attention and its impact on your brain. It remains to be seen if partial attention is a distraction as most believe, or an adaptation of the brain to the constant flow of stimuli.We don't bother to remember
In a study by Science Magazine, students were asked to type in pieces of trivia, and depending on their group were told that their information would either be erased or saved. The group that was told their data would be saved were less likely to remember. This study indicates that people have lower rates of recall when they can expect to be able to access information in the future.We're getting better at finding information
Although we can't remember it all, we're getting better at finding the information we need. It seems that the brainpower previously used to retain facts and information is now being used to remember how to look it up. Professor Betsy Sparrow reports, "We remember less through knowing information itself than by knowing where the information can be found." She indicates that this isn't necessarily a bad thing, and may even be "kind of amazing," as we're adapting to new technology and becoming highly skilled in remembering where to find things.
Difficult questions make us think about computers
When faced with a difficult question, people rarely consider the encyclopedia or history books, but rather, think about computers. It's a brand new impulse that exists in our brains. For many, this means we don't have to trek to the library, or, with the ubiquity of smartphones, even go much farther than our own pockets. It's no longer a big deal to find an old classmate or remember the name of an actor in a movie — all you have to do is Google it.IQ is increasing over time
In the age of MTV and video games, parents and experts worried that the new and flashy technologies would fry our poor brains into oblivion. But the exact opposite has happened: after MTV, after video games, after Twitter, Facebook, and Google, we're getting smarter. Are we smarter because of technology, or in spite of it? No one's answered that question yet, but it's interesting to think about.Continued
No comments:
Post a Comment