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I’ll have fries with that, thanks
According to a new study commissioned by Hewlett Packard — and conducted by psychologists at King’s College in London — extensive use email and instant messaging can drop your IQ by 10 per cent. In comparison, as the researchers hasten to note, the regular smoking of pot dents your IQ by only 4 per cent. The psychologists argue that the problem emerges when the brain tries — and fails — to multitask, as infoconomy reports:
“The impairment only lasts for as long as the distraction. But you have to ask whether our current obsession with constant communication is causing long-term damage to concentration and mental ability,” said Dr Glenn Wilson, psychologist at the University of London.
Eh. I’d like to know more about this study before I comment on it. Personally, I’m less intrigued by the actual content of any of these studies than in the mere fact that psychologists and pundits are convinced that the world is going to be destroyed by people, y’know, communicating. I’ve always felt the anti-messaging panic carries a faint whiff of Reefer Madness; it’s nice to have a critic finally come clean and explicitly connect those dots.
For a truly excellent discussion of whether email interruptions wreck your brain, go to the posting I did last month on “attention deficit trait” — and read the ensuing conversation in the comment area. The points made there are just superb.
(Thanks to Steve Emrich for this one!)
I'm Clive Thompson, a writer on science, technology, and culture. This blog collects bits of offbeat research I'm running into, and musings thereon.
Currently, I'm a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and a columnist for Wired magazine. I also write for Fast Company and Wired magazine's web site, among other places. Email or AOL IM me (pomeranian99) to say hi or send in something strange!
The “Milky Way Transit Authority” map
Should automobile software be open-sourced?
My Bookforum review of Jaron Lanier’s “You Are Not A Gadget”
Molecular secrets of the “iron-plated snail”
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January 31, 2010 » 07:29 PM
V. A. To me death seems to be an evil.
M. What, to those who are already dead? or to those who must die?
A. To both.
M. It is a misery, then, because an evil?
A. Certainly.
M. Then those who have already died, and those who have still got to die, are both miserable?
A. So it appears to me.
M. Then all are miserable?
A. Every one.
January 24, 2010 » 03:22 PM
One of the more interesting trends is family, which came in at number five. Specifically, discussion about family, moms, dads, daughters, etc. jumped during 2009. With Facebook users getting older, this isn’t a big surprise. However, the fact that the mention of “kids” jumped by a factor of five this year is rather dramatic. It’s tough to know what this means, though. (via Facebook Unveils Most-Mentioned Topics of 2009
)
January 15, 2010 » 01:36 PM
BEYOND AWESOME. They are announcing a recall of the Plush Uterus “due to a potential choking hazard for children”. To apply for it, “Please send an email to the address below with the subject line, ‘UTERUS OPT OUT’”.
January 14, 2010 » 10:04 PM
“To order, please TYPE “YES” IN CHECKBOX BELOW TO AGREE YOU UNDERSTAND THIS PLUSH MUST BE KEPT AWAY FROM KIDS (it is a sex organ, after all). If it is not checked, WE WILL NOT SEND THE UTERUS.” (via @ibogost)
January 11, 2010 » 01:45 PM
I watched Space: 1999 back in the day, but I swear to god I do not remember this scene.
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