Friday, July 15, 2011

Evidence Suggests that the Internet Changes How We Remember - Technology Review

I have a vague memory of recently reading something else in this context; give me a minute to go search for it… (text below is from page 2 of the article)

Nicholas Carr has been one of the leading voices in the debate. His book The Shallows, published in June, contends that the Internet is having a detrimental effect, an argument he supports with numerous scientific studies. He says Sparrow's study "indicates how flexible our brains are in adapting to our tools."

However, he's not convinced that this adaptation is positive. "It's critically important to remember that there's a difference between external memory and internal memory," he says. "If you're not internalizing ... then your understanding becomes less personal, less distinctive, and, I think, ultimately more superficial."

Sparrow, on the other hand, sees this adaptation as positive. She says our minds are molding to the Internet, just as they have in the past with technologies like the written word.

Evidence Suggests that the Internet Changes How We Remember - Technology Review

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