Is the Human Brain Evolving / Adapting Because of Technology?
Background
I think Humans no longer need to remember as much information because all that is needed is for one to know where to look to get information. More often than not nowadays people know to quickly find information on the internet, whereas in the past, information was tediously stored within books in libraries. Today due to technology and devices such as mobile phones with internet connections, information can be readily available so as long as you remember or know to carry your mobile phone. Whereas in the past, you'll only have or find information if you communicated with the right people or read the right books.
Another example of behavioral change can be seen in the way young people travel in cars in comparison to elder people. The elder generation memorise parts of the road network prior to travelling in cars whereas the later generation rely on Sat Navs. Do people still need to memorise new road routes or even attentively look at road maps anymore because of Sat Navs? I think not.
Is One Generation Smarter than the Other because of Technology?
It does not mean to say one generation is smarter than the next because of technology; it means the brain is storing similar information (in this case the road network) differently. A young person’s brain tells him/her not to remember routes and instead remember to find the Sat Nav; whereas the elderly brain tells him to rely on instinct and bearing.
Perhaps the later generation has more space to store *other* information because it relies on technology? What are your thoughts?
Do You Think The Brain Is Evolving / Adapting Due To Technology?
Comments
this isn't neuropyschology, come on..
I think human actions and strategies are changing rapidly because of technology. In some small way there is an evolution going on, but humans still respond much as they did centuries ago.
I do think that past generations have different skill set than younger generations. If you have ever seen the film the great escape, there was a documentary made last year with current members of the RAF. They were asked to try and make the tunnels and everything else their fore colleagues did to escape the war camps. To summarise in case you've not seen it, they utilised tins, bed posts, bed lining... anything they could get their hands on to make oxygen pumps, rails for carts to run along, even fake documents. The point is this; the modern generation couldn't.
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