What I know is in my brain.
But all the other information I use to survive is stored somewhere else -- phone numbers, email addresses, account numbers, event dates, much of my log-in information. It's in my cell and spreadsheets and the byte-hungry hands of Google. (If I were to begin praying, and was going to beg mercy for the health of anything on Earth, it'd be Google's server system.)
I put all of that data in those other places exactly so I don't have to remember them.
Common conversation between me and my boss:
Richard: When is Such-and-Such Grant due?
Me: Let me check my spreadsheet.
Richard: *blank look*
Me: I can't remember them all!
But that's the thing. My grandfather would have been able to remember them. His generation and all before it were trained to remember things -- really remember them. We don't have to. We can put them in our phones and spreadsheets and servers. But it makes us dependent on those other methods.
My question to you: is it worth it? Have we made quantum leaps in human technology at the expense of our mental fitness? Or do the tools we use train our brains to work in other -- enhanced -- ways?
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5 ate pie:
I remember when I was in high school (before cell phones)I could rattle off hundreds of phone numbers- parents, school, work, friends, family but now I have to pause to make sure I'm dialing my own home phone correctly! Speed dial has made my brain useless for remembering numbers. I wonder sometimes what that extra space is being used for...
I read an article in Time yesterday that said action video games may help people learn to multitask. So even though we may not remember so much, we can still do more. Now, what was I about to do.... ;)
Shelley - I'm afraid of what's occupying my extra brain space.
Sandra - I've heard that SuDoKu is good for brain function, too. I do wonder if freeing memory space will help our brains evolve in different directions.
Your grandmother Bevis could remember everyone's birthday and anniversary, without referring to a calendar! I know that as I have gotten older I depend on alternate methods to keep track of all the things I don't want to have to worry about. Then, I seem to be able to problem solve better, especially in the morning before my brain starts to deal with my day. MOM :)
Mom - That's how I work, writing stuff down so I'm free to use my brain on other tasks. I've found recently that if I don't write something down right away... it disappears surprisingly quickly!
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