Just thought I'd share ... :)

[bluebirdpj]

I'm thinking maybe this is something I didn't want to know ...
How the Web rewires our brains .......

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/05/f ... carr/all/1

[janette]

So...since I didn't make it past the 5th paragraph...is it saying that being on the computer all the time makes me brain smarter???? I need a condensed version Pj!

[bluebirdpj]

So...since I didn't make it past the 5th paragraph...is it saying that being on the computer all the time makes me brain smarter???? I need a condensed version Pj!

LOL!!! I ended up skimming it, too... which just proves what it's all about... we have all this information at our fingertips (literally) ... and by accessing it online we are teaching our brain to skip around and lose focus and evidently not retain what we read....

There's a key paragraph near the end (since you'll never read that far, Janette, I'll post it here )
"Last year, researchers at Stanford found signs that this shift may already be well under way. They gave a battery of cognitive tests to a group of heavy media multitaskers as well as a group of relatively light ones. They discovered that the heavy multitaskers were much more easily distracted, had significantly less control over their working memory, and were generally much less able to concentrate on a task. Intensive multitaskers are “suckers for irrelevancy,” says Clifford Nass, one professor who did the research. “Everything distracts them.” Merzenich offers an even bleaker assessment: As we multitask online, we are “training our brains to pay attention to the crap.” "

[janette]

So...since I didn't make it past the 5th paragraph...is it saying that being on the computer all the time makes me brain smarter???? I need a condensed version Pj!

LOL!!! I ended up skimming it, too... which just proves what it's all about... we have all this information at our fingertips (literally) ... and by accessing it online we are teaching our brain to skip around and lose focus and evidently not retain what we read....

There's a key paragraph near the end (since you'll never read that far, Janette, I'll post it here )
"Last year, researchers at Stanford found signs that this shift may already be well under way. They gave a battery of cognitive tests to a group of heavy media multitaskers as well as a group of relatively light ones. They discovered that the heavy multitaskers were much more easily distracted, had significantly less control over their working memory, and were generally much less able to concentrate on a task. Intensive multitaskers are “suckers for irrelevancy,” says Clifford Nass, one professor who did the research. “Everything distracts them.” Merzenich offers an even bleaker assessment: As we multitask online, we are “training our brains to pay attention to the crap.” "


Well...that's nothing new to me...I've done that for years...

[Tracey]

HA...like Janette...too much for me to "skim" too. But what I did read and got from it.... proves my point that my brain is full of useless information.

[willie99]

Hmm, interesting -- I suppose too much of a good thing is usually bad.

One of the things that keeps me sane (well, relatively sane) is a long walk every day. It forces me to live in the 3-D natural world, rather than soaking in an endless series of words and images on a 2-D screen (computer or TV).

I think the Internet has made us much more tolerant of seeing lots of information -- you almost never saw scrolls on TV news broadcasts, or detailed scores and statistics on sidebars when watching sports on TV, but now they are everywhere. People expect a barrage of data, and the public is generally very good at absorbing lots of info and gleaning from it what they want to know. This makes people less able to concentrate and think deeply, sure, but if you shut it all off and spend enough "down time" you can retain your ability to do that.

I guess I'm more concerned about young people being far more visually oriented than in years past. People become less tolerant of looking at something for any length of time that isn't visually stimulating them.

[Tessitura]

HA...like Janette...too much for me to "skim" too. But what I did read and got from it.... proves my point that my brain is full of useless information.

Ditto that

[preacherskid]

what they said........

Marsha

[DPphanGP1]

Thanks for the article, PJ I found a lot of the info to be true, for me. Like the hyperlinks and interruptions.

This was a good paragraph, too.
"When first publicized, the findings were greeted with cheers. By keeping lots of brain cells buzzing, Google seemed to be making people smarter. But as Small was careful to point out, more brain activity is not necessarily better brain activity. The real revelation was how quickly and extensively Internet use reroutes people’s neural pathways. “The current explosion of digital technology not only is changing the way we live and communicate,” Small concluded, “but is rapidly and profoundly altering our brains.”"

[bluebirdpj]

Thanks for the article, PJ I found a lot of the info to be true, for me. Like the hyperlinks and interruptions.

This was a good paragraph, too.
"When first publicized, the findings were greeted with cheers. By keeping lots of brain cells buzzing, Google seemed to be making people smarter. But as Small was careful to point out, more brain activity is not necessarily better brain activity. The real revelation was how quickly and extensively Internet use reroutes people’s neural pathways. “The current explosion of digital technology not only is changing the way we live and communicate,” Small concluded, “but is rapidly and profoundly altering our brains.”"

yes, I think it's more and more obvious in our online "discussions" which are filled with bunny trails... and even in group conversations where discussions jump to other subjects without anyone realizing that the whole point and structure has ... LOOK ... Sparklies!!!