Wil and Lexi

I was listening to the radio on my way to work. The morning DJs were playing a game with a listener: "Are you smarter than Lexi?" A man called in. His name was Wil.

The first question neither Wil nor Lexi knew the answer to (Where are the 2012 Olympics being held? Answer: London). Wil, being at a loss, attempted to google the answer. You could hear him typing. Lexi told him off for trying to cheat. The next question (What state is the Grand Canyon primarily in? Answer: Arizona) took Lexi a little bit of time, but she got it in the end. Of course, before she figured it out she had to tell Wil off again for trying to google the answer.

After Lexi answered the question, Lexi told Wil he needed to up his game on the next question if he wanted the tickets. Wil didn't answer. He had hung up.

Poor guy, he never saw it coming. See, Wil is smart. He knows where to find anything he needs to. A few seconds with an information processing device and Wil can tell you just about anything. That, dear people, is amazing.

The problem is, Wil can't come up with the information on his own. Once upon a time people stored information. These days, mostly we just process information. Chances are pretty good at some point Wil came across the information that the 2012 Olympics were in London or that the Grand Canyon was mostly in Arizona. At the time, Wil didn't need the information. He processed the information as "not important" and moved on.

I recently read The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing Our Brains  by Nicholas Carr. This book talks all about why Wil is the way he is. It's the internet. It's done it to all of us. You may think that's a hasty generalization, but I'm pretty confident in my assessment, seeing as you are currently reading this post. You = internet user. Apparently it only takes about five hours of internet time to significantly rewire the brain. Imagine what your brain must look like.

But that's okay, right? Nothing wrong with being adept at information processing. The thing with the brain is when you begin to do one thing intensely, the connections in the brain involved in that process grow stronger. It works the other way around, too. The less you do something, the weaker those connections become.

The internet helps us with our decision-making (click on that link or pass it by? pay attention to that ad or ignore it?) and with information processing, but it does not help us practice our focus. The less time we spend focusing on a single task (watching tv, browsing the internet, and carrying on three different chats all at once doesn't cut it), the less able we are to focus on a single task. This means that less deep thinking is going on, which in turn means there's less imagination and creativity. Kind of a scary thought.

Good news is, the fact that I was able to read that book in two days means I am still fully capable of focusing.

I may be a champion information processor, but I won't go down without a fight. I exercise my concentration and deep thinking skills quite regularly. I also have a deep dislike for smart phones and intend to not have one for as long as possible. And you better believe someday when I'm filthy rich and don't have to work anymore I'll spend significantly less time practicing my information processing skills.

P.S. I am definitely smarter than Lexi. Who doesn't know where the Olympics are this year? Or where the Grand Canyon is?