Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Memory War - technology is killing our minds


Cell Phones

This report begins to prove the decline of our memory due to cell phones. When was the last time you remembered someones phone number as opposed to programming into your cell phone? The cell phone has become such a convenient tool as it has taken the place of many appliances at once: address book, phone, alarm clock, calander, instant messanger, computer, camera etc. This is only getting worse. Our reliance on our cell phones is much greater today, than our reliance on our own memories. Cell phones are dangerously becoming something we depend far too much on.


Internet
How often do you save information, or bookmark a useful page online rather than read the information and retain it? The internet is the greatest database of easily accessed knowledge available ever, and that is dangerous. Because it is so vast and so easy to obtain, our memories are becoming lazy. We are slowly losing our brain power. The less you use your memory the worse it becomes. The internet is desgined to give you answers, so we don't have to do the thinking ourselves. It is not a good idea to know so many answers, without figuring them out for ourselves.

Memory War

How do we start winning the memory war and fighting back against technology? The first step is to make a conscious effort to not be lazy. Only use tools like the cell phone ande internet when you absolutely have to. Challenge yourself to learn new things, or play memory games. Memory Improvement websites and books can be found all over if you look for them.

Politics
Is it any coincidence that we (I'm speaking as an American) seem to quickly forget about Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, and the 2004 election scandals? The president is making sure to take advantage of our decaying memories, telling us to continue to buy cell phones, continue to use the mind numbing television, and internet, and meanwhile he will give his grin stupidly as we forget all about these terrible things that have happened. There is no question that the memory decay is something that the politicians of the world are taking advantage of. Why else would we forget to pay our credit card bills?

Method
I do not know if there is an easy solution to these problems. But I do know that I try to make sure my memory does not fade. I challenge myself with new games, or ventures that depend on using my memory. I also do not own a cell phone, which i honestly think helps a great deal.

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