Google Search Shapes Memory, New Research Shows [ReadWriteWeb]

As Clay Shirky suggested in Cognitive Surplus, the question then becomes what we do with the resources we no longer need to dedicate to pre-Internet memorization

"The researchers set out to determine what impact, if any, access to information via Internet search engines has on memory. Their conclusion: When posed a question, people are primed to think of computers, and when they expect to have access to future information, they have lower rates of recall about the actual information and enhanced recall of where they can find the information. For example, you’re not likely to remember the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon chain of associations that leads from the actor to Marlon Brando, but you will remember that you can easily figure it out by going to IMDB."

Google Search Shapes Memory, New Research Shows