Daily archives: May 28, 2010

The Internet has rewired my brain

This entry was posted in Brains internet Wired on by

The depth of our intelligence hinges on our ability to transfer information from working memory, the scratch pad of consciousness, to long-term memory, the mind’s filing system. When facts and experiences enter our long-term memory, we are able to weave them into the complex ideas that give richness to our thought. But the passage from working memory to long-term memory also forms a bottleneck in our brain. Whereas long-term memory has an almost unlimited capacity, working memory can hold only a relatively small amount of information at a time. And that short-term storage is fragile: A break in our attention can sweep its contents from our mind.

Interesting stuff- the cognitive skills which are enhanced by web browsing are the opposite of the ones which are best for learning. I read this all the way through and only managed to be distracted by the rest of the web once. That’s almost a record.