Intelligence Offload

22 August
2007

Intelligence Offload

Someone else is being smart, not me

What do we really know? The knowledge that I have obtained is merely information that others have figured out that I have either memorized or mimicked. What I do know is how to use the Internet to my advantage. I can Google just about anything. Wikipedia has full page articles on almost anything I can imagine. We are getting to the point where all the answers are on a web page. It is just a matter of how to get those answers.

I have reached a point where I offload information because I can Google it in about the same time as my own recollection, if not faster. I have no real reason to remember stuff. This concerns me a bit. What is my incentive to retain information if the Internet can literally do all my thinking for me? It would not surprise me if our society gets dumber moving forward because of these actions. However as long as Google and Wikipedia are available our collective knowledge remains high. Take that access away are we become blathering idiots.

Posted by steve at 08:24 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

Comments

Re: Intelligence Offload

Don't give up remembering just yet. I read an article last week that showed how different groups are editing Wikipedia to their liking. Some of the groups mentioned were the CIA, the church of Scientology, and Diebold, you know, the voting machine people. They were doing lots of things from deleting negative statements about them to editing entries on popular tv shows. I remember something in the article said that someone from Diebold deleted a statement that said that George W. Bush was their biggest benefactor.

And as I tell the kids in school, it's very easy to put lies online. There's a pretty interesting link that you could google about the first pregnant man. Obviously a hoax, I hope, but it looks quite realistic. Just something to think about...

Posted by: Ed at August 23,2007 11:55

Re: Intelligence Offload

If its on the Internet, you know it has to be true

Posted by: steve at August 24,2007 09:52

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