The Internet has rewired my brain

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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.