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Originally Posted by Cynthetiq
I'm not quite so sure.
The convenience of technology has radically altered just how we function as an individual.
- Why bother to remember a phone number by heart? It's on speed dial. Take someone else's phone for a moment and try to call some of your friends.
- You don't need to know how to do any simple mathematics like figuring out how much a sale price is saving you, or how much to tip, use your calculator.
- No need to know how to drive to someplace, just let the GPS dictate when to turn.
- Cashiers don't count back change. They give you what the register tells them.
- Waitstaff can't always give you what you want, there has to be a button on the order screen in order to do it.
- Spellcheck has caused some to forget simple things like "i before e, except after c..." Misspellings shouldn't happen at all. How hard is it to press F7 before printing a document?
I was going to write such a thread, and still might, because many of the above things have happened to me.
Maybe the correct terminology is that the technology made me lazy and complacent. |
Back in BC (before computers) I had catalogs full of information commited to memory. I could quote a complete brake job, or tune up to an acquaintance at the bar or over breakfast. I could recite phone numbers for dozens of suppliers and hundreds of customers, most even their back-up numbers. I found myself being used as "encyclopedia grumpy" by colleagues, friends, relatives. It got pretty annoying, but being able to run through the work day with hardly having to refer to a text was kinda convenient.
With parts proliferation, escalating frequency of price changes, consolidations and upgraded technology, I've made the conscious decision to stop trying to remember everything, start using my resources for their intended service, and apply my brain cells to actual critical thinking (and producing prodigious run-on sentences). I've found that I'm one hell of a multi-tasker. While BC I was the guy with all the info, now I'm the guy who gets thing accomplished. Much more satisfying!
Does Google, or any other resource, make me stupid? No, I'm just as stupid as I always was. I can now, however, display my stupidity at a much higher rate!