Week 2 learnings

I read both articles this week -- "Does the Internet Make You Dumber?" and "Does the Internet Make You Smarter?" -- and I see both sides of the argument.

DUMBER -- The availability of internet during every meeting, every conversation, every bathroom break, creates a division of focus.  There are meetings at my workplace where executives have been asked to place all handheld devices in the center of the table; the meetings were more effective with all partners engaged in the topic at hand (fewer distractions).  It's not the internet content itself making the population dumber, rather the distraction it causes and the behavior-change associated with having a plethora of information available at lightning speeds.  With information available anytime/anywhere, there is lesser need for individuals to remember information on their own.

SMARTER -- The transmission of knowledge across continents in this rapid way is really just developing.  The ability of the internet to join individuals around a common cause, including sufferers of Lou Gehrig's disease as explained in the article, will undoubtedly lead to increased collaboration and knowledge across the globe and across cultures.  Further, the access to information in developing countries, where people have been without access, will lead to entire populations gaining in knowledge.  These are very exciting times!