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Search Engines Change How Memory Works

“ Thanks to search engines, most simple facts don’t need to be remembered. They can be accessed with a few keystrokes, plucked from ubiquitous server-stored external memory — and that may be changing how our own memories are maintained. A study of 46 college students found lower rates of recall on newly-learned facts when students thought those facts were saved on a computer for later recovery. If you think a fact is conveniently available online, then, you may be less apt to learn it. As ominous as that sounds, however, study co-author and Columbia University psychologist Elizabeth Sparrow said it’s just another form of so-called transactive memory, exhibited by people working in groups in which facts and expertise are distributed. “It’s very similar to how we use people in our lives,” said Sparrow. “The internet is really just an interface with a lot of other people.” [The Full Monty] When WW III shuts down electricity, Amazon Bushmen will be the smartest people on earth. There are other dangers too.