WEBVTT 00:00:00.042 --> 00:00:03.067 So you are reading an article online when you get an instant message with a link to 00:00:03.067 --> 00:00:06.779 a funny photo, which of course you have to share. And now you are reading your Facebook 00:00:06.779 --> 00:00:10.016 News Wall, which sends you to a video of a panda bear attacking a kid. And now you are 00:00:10.016 --> 00:00:14.058 reading wikipedia to learn everything you can about the violent behavior of panda bears. 00:00:14.058 --> 00:00:17.083 And this is what 3 minutes on the internet can be like. 00:00:17.083 --> 00:00:21.096 We live like this all the time, and it has to have some kind of effect on us. 00:00:21.096 --> 00:00:25.055 The 'net is making us more superficial as thinkers. 00:00:25.055 --> 00:00:29.064 That is Nicholas Carr. He is the author of, "The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing 00:00:29.064 --> 00:00:30.074 to our Brains." 00:00:30.074 --> 00:00:34.699 To understand this whole thing better we need to go way back in time, to say, like, the 00:00:34.699 --> 00:00:36.001 prehistoric age. 00:00:36.001 --> 00:00:40.199 You wanted to know everything was going on around you because the more you knew about 00:00:40.199 --> 00:00:44.449 your surroundings the less likely you were to get attacked by a predator. And there's 00:00:44.449 --> 00:00:51.159 even evidence that our brains release some dopamine - a pleasure inducing neurotransmitter 00:00:51.159 --> 00:00:55.979 chemical - to reward us for seeking out and finding new information. 00:00:55.979 --> 00:01:01.139 So, getting distracted felt good and helped us stay alive. But the problem is that nowadays, 00:01:01.139 --> 00:01:05.469 predators aren't much of an issue, but we still have the same brains. And also, there's 00:01:05.469 --> 00:01:07.689 the internet, which is... 00:01:07.689 --> 00:01:13.078 It's an incredibly information rich environment, uh, that the 'net creates for us. And that's 00:01:13.078 --> 00:01:20.409 why we use it so much. I mean, sounds, pictures, words, texts. And what this tends to do is 00:01:20.409 --> 00:01:25.034 promote a sort of compulsive behavior in which we are constantly checking your smart phone, 00:01:25.034 --> 00:01:30.369 constantly glancing at our email inbox. We're kind of living in this perpetual state of 00:01:30.369 --> 00:01:32.499 distraction and interruption. 00:01:32.499 --> 00:01:34.039 Which is dangerous because... 00:01:34.039 --> 00:01:38.084 That mode of thinking crowds out the more contemplative calmer modes of thinking. 00:01:38.084 --> 00:01:43.939 And that focused, calm thinking is actually how we learn. It's a process called memory 00:01:43.939 --> 00:01:45.319 consolidation. 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:51.289 And that means the transfer of information from our short term working memory, to our 00:01:51.289 --> 00:01:57.084 long term memory. And it's through moving information from your working memory to your 00:01:57.084 --> 00:02:03.869 long term memory that you create connections between that information and everything else 00:02:03.869 --> 00:02:04.909 you know. 00:02:04.909 --> 00:02:09.409 So you've got this awesome, life changing piece of information in your short term memory, 00:02:09.409 --> 00:02:14.034 but then you hear that email ding, and poof, there it goes. That email takes its place, 00:02:14.034 --> 00:02:18.043 and you never get a chance to learn anything, all because of one distraction. 00:02:18.043 --> 00:02:24.709 So attention is the key. And if we lose control of our attention, or are constantly dividing 00:02:24.709 --> 00:02:29.031 our attention, uh, then we don't really enjoy that consolidation process. 00:02:29.031 --> 00:02:34.051 But I can hear it now, someone is out there saying, "Uh, what does learning matter if 00:02:34.051 --> 00:02:38.549 all of the information in the world is just a Google search away?" Well... 00:02:38.549 --> 00:02:45.054 Um, that is is kind of short-changing our, our intellects. If that's the way you're using 00:02:45.054 --> 00:02:49.939 your mind, just kind of searching very quickly and finding information and then forgetting 00:02:49.939 --> 00:02:54.659 it very quickly, you're never building knowledge. You're simply, you're, you're kind of thinking 00:02:54.659 --> 00:02:55.009 like a computer. 00:02:55.009 --> 00:03:00.989 Which means that our very humanity is at stake. And it would be a shame if we all got assimilated, 00:03:00.989 --> 00:03:03.076 because, well, humanity is pretty neat. 00:03:03.076 --> 00:03:10.068 I really believe that if you look at the great monuments of culture, they come from people 00:03:10.068 --> 00:03:17.037 who are able to pay attention, who control their mind. That's what allows us to think 00:03:17.037 --> 00:03:23.005 in the highest terms and think conceptually, think critically, uh, think in some very creative 00:03:23.005 --> 00:03:24.017 ways. 00:03:24.017 --> 00:03:30.000 And it's this kind of thinking that's at risk: being eroded one cute cat video at a time. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:34.001 Don't get us wrong: The internet is good for lots of things, and it should be celebrated. 00:03:34.001 --> 00:03:38.849 But the best thing we can do for our minds is to find some time every day to unplug, 00:03:38.849 --> 00:03:42.006 calm down, and focus on one thing at a time. 00:03:42.006 --> 99:59:59.999 Your email -- and those cats -- will be here when you get back.