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| "Young Woman Picking The Fruit of Knowledge" (1892) by Mary Cassatt |
The fear that technology hinders learning is not a new one--Socrates warns in Plato's Phaedrus (370 BC) that the invention of writing itself promised to degrade human memory and give the appearance of wisdom without actual understanding. If it is true that the use of a pocket calculator degrades mathematical skills and the use of search engines reduces the exercise of memory, does that represent a serious problem in human knowledge? Why is it important to generate knowledge on your own when so much is quickly and readily available when you need to use it?
The immediate availability of information does create a problem for human knowledge. People will not make an effort to memorize something if they know it's always available to look up. The only way they would memorize a certain piece of information would be repetitive googling or calculating instead of writing it down and making an effort to memorize it. It's important to generate knowledge on our own because there could come a time when information technology is not available and we would have to rely on our own knowledge. It's also good to have general knowledge to make decisions, interactions, and just have some common sense.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment regarding effort. People will not try and remember things they know can be searched up in a matter of seconds. Unless people put a specific use to the information they look up and use it repeatedly, then it is seen as no use to them to store in their memory for future reference. People tend to disregard the ability to memorize information when they have the availability of that knowledge at their fingertips. Of course, it's important to generate our own knowledge as well. That's how we learn! We learn from our experiences and can rely on common sense to get us through most situations. People don't have the answers to all of life's questions, but if we open our eyes I'm sure there is someone next to you who has been through what you're questioning. People need to look up from their screens and engage with life around them.
DeleteI believe that the use of a pocket calculator or search engine only presents a serious problem in human knowledge to those who allow themselves to become completely dependent on those things. I have worked in a convenient store for over three years and my ability to calculate has not degraded. Many of my coworkers depend on the register to tell them how much change they need to give the customer. For example, if a customer's total was $6.67 and he or she gave me $10.00 I would immediately know that his or her change was $3.33. I do not need the register to tell me how much change to give because I have not become dependent on the register, I always do the math in my head as well.
ReplyDeleteOf course, having the calculator and the search engine can be very helpful for when there are things you don't know or aren't sure of. Looking for an answer you don't know or aren't sure of isn't the same as just looking it up so you can copy and paste it or rewrite it on paper.
I completely agree with you. As with many other things in this world, there are two sides. If you allow yourself to rely completely on a calculator you may lose, or hinder, your ability to be able to do mental math. However, there are many times when a calculator is useful, like when you do not have time to sit down and write out a long division problem, or if you are an engineer and you need to double check a calculation you made. Used in mediocrity, technology can be a very good thing.
DeleteThe problem here isnt the tools we rely on, the problem is the indolence required to depend on alternate sources of information. We should use the sources of information around us as a pogo stick, not a crutch, in the pursuit of knowledge.
ReplyDeleteIt is important to learn on your own because if every person relied on the collective knowledge of the past, new ideas could not flourish.
The availability of quick and accurate information is a boon as well as a ban. For example, Excel is a wonderful software which comes into handy for mathematical calculations, creating schedules and many other features which are used daily in offices and workplaces. However in order to use Excel accurately, an individual must be an expert at it. So this is a great example of technology and human ability finding a middle ground.
Delete"A pogo stick, not a crutch." I love that metaphor, Laura!
ReplyDeleteWith so much information just seconds away, many people no longer find it important or necessary to retain the information they learn as they could easily look it up again. This creates a serious problem as we hand our memory over to machines. These time saving computers can actually take up a lot of time as one will have to repeatedly look up the same information as it is not retained. Search engines can be beneficial as they provide so much information to us, but what good does this do if we can not remember it minutes later?
ReplyDeleteBecoming completely dependent on technology for my "knowledge" is a fear of mine. I think of all the people I know who try to sound intelligent and informed with just a quick search engine answer; instead of looking "smart" they look incredibly ignorant. This need to have access to answers rather than having the answers stored in your brain could cause serious problems in the future. If programs or machines end up failing, will professionals really know anything about their career anymore? Even every day things, such as phone numbers, are stored in machines rather than in our brains. Is it possible that if we lost technology we would also lose relationships and memories? I think that generating knowledge on our own is important because it is less fleeting than technology.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the exact same page as you at present. For the time being, we can't allow ourselves to become so dependent on technology that in its absence we regress to infancy. A concern of mine, however, is what will happen when (and if) technology becomes infallible? My fear is that if that were to happen, humans would become obsolete.
DeleteI would like to pose a slightly different view on this topic by focusing on the question – “Why is it important to generate knowledge on your own when so much is quickly and readily available when you need to use it?” Every generation has its own challenges. I believe that the challenge our generation is facing today is that of uniqueness. In a world were collective ideas of the masses are so easily available and up for display, incidents of herd mentality and groupthink are bound to take place. Herd mentality refers to when individuals prefer to follow mass thinking and accept it as the correct path/decision. Groupthink on the other hand is succumbing to group decisions and the inability to showcase individual creativity due to group pressure. Those who are able to step past these obstacles are the ones who achieve success and stand out. All of this depends on one’s attitude. If you are willing to be curious, you will figure out a way past the challenge and find uniqueness in you.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that using a calculator degrades your ability to perform basic mathematic computations. In particular, I now have difficulty adding or subtracting numbers in my head. I don't need to be able to do it quickly or well, so my brain doesn't easily do it anymore. Mental processes are the same as physical. If you stop doing a certain thing or using a certain group of muscles, you lose strength in them. It's not a particularly bad thing though. Because I have a calculator and I can use it for these basic processes, my brain is free to tackle more challenging mathematic concepts. In this situation, the calculator is a program or a computer that frees up CPU space in your brain for other activities.
ReplyDeleteMost humans, youth in particular, would almost always choose the easier route in a situation or problem. This isn't necessarily a bad trait to have, efficiency is key and often gets whatever the situation is over quicker and easier, but it is important to examine what we are losing through efficiency. The math example is interchangeable with nearly any other process that a person goes through in life. Once we get in the habit of letting technology do the "little things" for us while we do the more complex parts of the equation it becomes very easy to slip into the routine of relying on the technology to always be there, for the computer to always give help when needed. The satisfaction of solving a problem or creating a solution that no person before you has managed is an incredible feeling and is so rewarding, I feel that search engines and computer aid sometimes takes away from that joy. It could be said that these minor assistances from technology will open up the human mind for more important or creative opportunities, but it can also stunt the brain. In order to achieve something great you have to build on all the small steps you have taken before and then let your mind unfold from there. The ability to have virtually any question you may have answered instantaneously can cause more harm than help. The brain needs constant exercise to remain in top condition and if we get lazy then so will our brain.
ReplyDeleteMuch of the information we rely on search engines and calculators for is factual. Meaning we normally search for the date something occurred, or what the difference of 467 and 58 is (409). While we are depriving our brains of the exercise menial mental tasks such as rote recall and subtraction require, it could be argued that we are saving more time for exercising our cognitive thinking skills. The more easily available information is, the quicker we can go about analyzing its importance to whatever problem we are applying it to. Also, it is often overlooked that the internet does not just provide one textbook definition for each question. Many different perspectives on a multitude of topics can be found, and this accessibility of different viewpoints is incredibly beneficial to the formation of nuanced opinions about the world. This ability to think critically and take into consideration many perceptions of the same problem is a type of knowledge in and of itself. So while I will not be forgetting my grandmother’s phone number any time soon, I will still probably google Columbus Day—not because I can’t remember when he sailed the ocean blue, but because there is usually a perspective available online that allows me to see the topic in a broader context. I feel that the accessibility of information has benefits that far outweigh the detriments of being unable to do complex algebra in my head quickly.
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