
The effects of the internet: Fast forward - davidw
http://www.economist.com/node/16423330
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allenp
"There is evidence, he says, that digital technology is already damaging the
long-term memory consolidation that is the basis for true intelligence ...
this is a radical upending of the 'literate mind' that has been the hallmark
of civilisation for more than 1,000 years."

I don't know if the author addresses this in his book, but it is widely
observed that pre-literate societies have much greater focus and training on
memorization and long-term memory as a group than their literate counterparts.
It is likely that technology does change they way we decide to remember things
(compare the amount of phone numbers you had memorized in your pre-cellphone
years to how many you memorize now) but I think as a species we are far too
concerned with trivia and details to really not be able to make connections. I
think there will always be people with an energy and enthusiasm for learning
and that isn't going to be destroyed by using google more often.

Or maybe the author is correct and the internet is just paving the way for us
evolving into Eloi. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eloi>

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bmunro
The Eloi are the more unthinking group.

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allenp
You're right, initially I was just intending to say we would change to be
brutish, but I think this is a more interesting comparison. I like that the
Eloi use the technology but don't understand it, to the point where it is
deteriorating around them.

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ScotterC
I don't buy it. Don't have much reasoning more then gut feeling but it just
doesn't sit right. Also, claiming such a thing as the internet is making us
stupid is a great way to sell books.

It would seem that the author made a conclusion and didn't have that hard of a
time finding evidence to support it. Now that sort of thinking is rampant on
the internet and a real problem.

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kiba
It probably mean that anybody who can concentrate and focus on long stretch of
time, while also processing information deeply will have an easier time
earning a living relative to the scatterbrain unfocused internet mind.

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stretchwithme
I don't think computers are going to warp us in the long term because they are
going to become more like the very best human teachers, assistants and
entertainers who just happen to work very cheap and very consistently. And who
sometimes have nervous breakdowns :-)

In other words, its the interfaces that are warping us and they are improving
gradually. One day, even a half senile person will be able to pick up the
phone and find answers to any concern with the greater speed and success than
many of us now have with google. And the voice on the other end will carefully
explain things to your grandma just as considerately as you might.

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RyanMcGreal
Image caption:

> Fried brains is a delicacy in France

WTF?

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eru
The Economist sets great store in their image captions.

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agentultra
Without solid evidence, this tired old claim holds about as much weight as
when my parents told me that spending too much time infront of the TV or
computer screen would make my eyes turn square.

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jimmyjim
I've noticed it in myself. I'm 22, started using the internet when I was 12.
I've noticed in my lecture classes that my focus-level and memory retention is
discernibly poorer than my peers'. I'm at least hoping that this can be
rectified in some way. And, I know, I'm just offering another personal
anecdote, but my intuition tells me very strongly that the internet has been
the sole cause of this.

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kiba
My memory retention level has been far higher than my peers and I probably use
the internet more than anybody.

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jimmyjim
If I recall correctly, you're still in high school. Unless you're taking very
high-level courses, I don't think you really get a chance to thoroughly vet
your intellectual capability there.

When taking my summer-accelerated diff eq class, for example, it seemed that I
was much worse at memorizing formulas than my peers were--and we studied
together, so there was rather little difference in studying techniques and
time of study.

