Search Engines Ruin Our Memory, Make Us Smarter
This raises a debate: Does this new research mean that we are getting lazy and stupid or is the Web turning into our external memory drive ?Sparrow's research shows that they way our memory uses the Web isn't unlike how we would have relied on other people in the past.
"Since the advent of search engines, we are reorganizing the way we remember things," Sparrow says in her report. "Our brains rely on the Internet for memory in much the same way they rely on the memory of a friend, family member or co-worker. We remember less through knowing information itself than by knowing where the information can be found."
I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure the Internet has a lot more information bouncing around it than the brains of my friends, family members, and co-workers. (No offense, guys!) That is almost like being friends with the Oxford English Dictionary and a few sets of Encyclopedias. The tricky part is knowing what sources have reliable information and which ones don't. Plenty of garbage out there is masquerading as truth or fact. If we don't have discerning minds, we can easily think we have an answer, when we really have false information or half-truths.
I like to think that the results of Sparrow means we are more like research librarians that students lazy we can not know everything, but we have a pretty good idea where to find information when we need to. This does not mean that we should not commit things to memory. Just because we have calculators does not mean that we should not be able to do some basic numerical calculations in our heads.
I think the sweet spot would be if we can use the Net to perform the mundane tasks and more brain power free of critical thinking and creativity - two things that can not be easily completed by computers.
What do you think? Can search engines better equip us for critical thinking and reasoning skills? Let us know by leaving a comment.
Free Online Version Oxford English Dictionary - News
For every groaner like "mentee" (ie, "protégé"), there are awesome coinages like "aerobicized," "blowback" and "crunk" -- all recently added to the "Concise Oxford English Dictionary." Also, I rejoice to learn that "whom" (the objective case of the
That is almost like being friends with the Oxford English Dictionary and a few sets of Encyclopedias. The tricky part is knowing what sources have reliable information and which ones don't. Plenty of garbage out there is masquerading as truth or fact.
The latest update to the online edition of the Oxford English Dictionary contains over 1840 newly revised and updated words. They range from “brain gain”, “brain gym” and “brain sucker” (a plagiarist or parasite) to “use it or lose it”,
Let me give you links to three free online dictionaries that give the definitions of these words: As I just wrote in answer to another reader, “who” is the subject pronoun and “whom” is the object pronoun. However, in modern British English,
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Free Online Version Oxford English Dictionary - Bookshelf
Computers in libraries
Online References Oxford English Dictionary Goes Online The Oxford ... has announced its free online version of En- carta World English Dictionary at ...Oxford English dictionary
Concise Oxford English Dictionary 2009
The Professor and the Madman, A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
Looks at the making of the Oxford English dictionary.Oxford dictionary of English
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Welcome to the new OED Online : Oxford English Dictionary
The online Oxford English Dictionary relaunched in November 2010. Please click on the ... articles by experts on the usage and history of the English language. ...
Oxford English Dictionary - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The online edition is the most up-to-date version of the dictionary available. ... "Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Edition, Version 4.0 (Windows & Mac) ...
Free online dictionary definitions for learners of English ...
Free online dictionary definitions and pronunciations for learners of English from the bestselling Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Oxford Dictionary of English - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This dictionary is not based on the Oxford English Dictionary and should not be mistaken ... Oxford Dictionaries Online online version published in 2010 ...
Oxford English Dictionary
Information about the authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. Offers subscription service for online access.