I read a book every night, on my tablet currently. All of my hard copies & paperbacks are packed away. We just moved because my husband retired October 1st 2018. I sit and watch outside my big bay window for wildlife that wanders through the yard, photographing some, crochet things, My next big goals are to bring chicken back to the family ranch and a garden too. There hasn't been either one here since Grandma Jessi became unable to manage hers. I would also love to quilt too, Grandma Jessi made beautiful quilts!
It first end when you die. And a second time when other people who remembers or see your written history, and keep's mimic your past and past you. In theory it could last until the universe end. If it even do end that is? Personally I think an end do not exist really. In some way history will always be history and the future is just something we cant see before its there, and then its just history. The fact is, our lives is just going in one direction, and that's why we feel compelled to say something has ended. But say we could download our minds into a virtual reality, then where does it really end, and begin ? When forever is an option.
I'm using eye drops that require me to stay with my eyes closed for a minute multiple times a day. It's awesome how intense that change of pace feels in respect to the rest of the day
While technology does help relieve a lot of the tasks that would busy our brains, I do think there is a huge negative a long with it. Creativity, one of the key aspects our lives relies a lot on prior skill and knowledge. Most creative works occur between the mastery and novice stages however if we can outsource most of our knowledge and information that might very well limit our creativity. Yes we can google random facts about quantum physics, the krebs cycle, or a video on how technology is interacting with our attention and psychology (albeit a cool video that's part of a great series). However the way our brain encodes and accesses information through association and later uses it for creative tasks isn't something that can be easily supplemented with technology. And what if we do develop algorithms that do just that, outsource our creativity? Would that make things better or worse? Life would be pretty mundane and I think it'd cause an issue come self actualization since for a lot of people that comes from creative expression. It is a pretty complicated topic and I'm no philosopher, but I do wonder what others think about it? Is all this technology degrading out creativity and might this become a big problem in the future (if it isn't already)?
I've always enjoyed making things, but about five years ago an illness left me disabled. I still love making things but I don't have the same physical abilities, so no I use tech to turn my ideas into reality. I learnt CAD software and with the aid of a cheap 3D printer, I still make things. With my computer I'm still able to make art with a graphics tablet. So rather than limiting my creativity it's made it more accessible.
So I've been thinking about this a bit lately: Boredom is great for your brain. Is meditation "just", let's call it, "planned boredom"? Or would that not count as, if you will, "boredom time"?
@@braincraft My Mother is a Psychologist {works at Erina, New South Wales}. I guess this new world of technology *COULD* make us lazier ⁉️ Potentially conditioning the world to not develop any more geniuses, And from the point of Hollywood Movies make it impossible for us to escape detection from the *CIA* 😄. I guess though, Where then are the C.I.A going to get employees who are a genius to work for them to catch smart-alacks like me who support Senator Sarah Hanson-Young & could maybe like to embarrass world leaders in the search for truth. 🤔 🧞♂️🤷♀️ 🚔ℹ📲🎥
Nice video, made me think that easy access to entertainment now pretty much enables us to just keep coasting, and perhaps inhibit our potential for growth in life.
Somali pirate who's actually somali It was both a joke and a form of an OK argument, that argument being that since we'll have smartphones with us everyday we should use them in tests to reflect our actual everyday abilities. I chose to respond to the argument aspect not the joke cause i didn't have anything to say about the joke.
I disagree with the extended mind thesis. The tools are just providing increased access to information. We still operate with the same processes inside our skulls, just with fancier tools on the outside.
Parker K. That’s just a matter of bandwidth though. If your tools like your smart phone - allowed for a direct connection with your mind; you’re no longer limited to the speed of a two thumb interaction. So if that were to happen would you not agree they are a literal extension of our mind? When we use tools we don’t operate with the same processes inside our own minds because we’ve offloaded that mental energy into what ever computative tool we’re using.
If it was purely access to information you would be correct, but it also works as behavioral management regarding notifications, social networks, and the ease of methods of doing things (for instance, accessing information). It’s not so much the availability of information, but the delivery (which is only one context anyway).
Human Here Okay, I can see that. I just don’t feel like we’re to that point with our current technology. Google maps is high tech, but still ultimately a map we use with the same processes we would use with a paper map.
Parker K. Do you, though? With a normal map, you make your own route, you’re not aware of traffic at specific points of the day from the map alone, etc, but all you have to do with Google is put in a destination and tell it to navigate. It picks the route for you based on those factors, therefore you literally are not using your cognitive processes for those things. Google maps is actually a great example, considering finding an appropriate route used to be more of an art form than an exact science.
Similar arguments happened when the printed word meant knowledge and literature could be made available to the mass population and more people learnt to read. It was feared that books would change people's brains and attitudes. In reality it just meant that more people had better access to information. The same happened again when radio became a consumer service. Again with TV. Tech is no different. It's a source of information and entertainment. How we as humans choose to use it is what matters. If we choose to use it to empower or enhance our abilities, then great. If we choose to surrender our free will to it, then that's your own fault. So what if Google co-ordinates my day? It doesn't mean I have to slavishly follow it's instructions. It's like following a satnav direction into a river, because it said there was a road there. (Don't laugh, it happened quite a few times back when satnav was new).
By having the phone store your contact info. By letting maps store directions and having an assistant for your agenda makes a person specialize more in a focused field rather than diverting attention to other stuff.
This was a big part of my PhD dissertation research. I found through a lot of work that McLuhan's adage about the medium being the message works on multiple levels. Nietzsche wrote about how his writing philosophy on a typewriter changed his thought processes, and we've seen drastic cultural changes to the pace of the day, sleep, concepts of time and space shift with new technologies, especially communication technology which this definitely fits under. I want to add though that I don't see these as value positive or negative. Humans have always been very plastic, and I'd argue our interactions are emergent phenomenon borne from the technologies we have in our world rather than a thing we drive.
"does technology change your brain? Well, anything changes your brain" Finally! Someone that presents that fact in the right context! So many people portray it as a scary fact. I am really glad that you don't.
Loving this series Vanessa! Your work is endlessly inspiring! Thinking about the amount of time and effort that must go into making content with such high production value blows my mind.
My decisions have never been entirely up to me. For example, in high school I would have taken a class that included graph theory if it been offered, but it wasn't. My decisions have always been influenced, and in some cases dictated, by my parents, school, friends, etc. Google et al have less of an influence on me than some other external factors.
I wasn't interested in this title but finally watched it after RU-vid suggested it about a dozen times. I'm glad I did but found humor in the situation. Excellent video, thank you.
Isn't picking up a book, also only a act of distraction from boredom, that'll effect you long-term memory just as google does on any given subject? And i doubt very much that people can read a 40 parts long twitter post, but not a book.
I haven't read a book for fun in years. However, a part of what draws us to social media in my opinion is that people are also very mentally busy. I was doing my degree and working, now I'm learning a difficult language 5 times a week and working. That's outside of just home maintenance and having relationships. My brain is tired, and quality books do require mental energy for me, as well as any other hobby. I don't want to read just for the sake of reading, so it's not a priority right now. Generally, if people have to work harder to survive, social media is just easier on our fatigued brains.
I do use many parts of Google, but I don't use any form of digital assistant. My primary mail is my own domain, I don't use Gmail for personal stuff, mostly Ingress and the automatic "social" posts. I also know where I'm going before I set off and only use Google Navigation for fine tuning. Digital assistants can't handle shift work anyway, and they certainly miss the mark with their recommendations 😂 I've been coding computers since 1979. First at school and as an occasional hobby since. I tell computers what to do, not the other way around. I do use the many tools available but as I want to, not how they want me to. Being without a connected device would be inconvenient, but I could survive (easily) without. Not sure about the infrastructure society has come to rely on, but it's pretty recent and I still clearly remember life without. Great series, mind provoking and I'll keep commenting on each one :D I think I'll make a playlist when the series is complete then share it to make others think.
What's makes things worse is that these algorithems used to better, such as RU-vid, but now they only focus on keeping people stay longer so more focus on quantity instead of quality
I'm sure people had these discussions and worries when the printed word became widely available. I don't think of the AI in my tech as being insidious on behalf of companies, it's just a different way to advertise. When shopping I rarely react to ads and buy the products that fill my tech's ad space, I use my tech to search for the thing I'm shopping for. Be it the best price, the speed of delivery or the best version of a product. I'm aware that the search engines could skew results in favour of sponsored products, but I'm also aware that search engines only thrive when users can trust their results. Once the public learn that a search engine manipulates it's results, the trust is gone and they will switch to the competition's search engines. So whilst I use tech with AI that suggest locations and products I don't rely on it. It's advice at best and ads at it's worst.
I look at it as an extension of my brain, not as a replacement for any of it. There is just too much information out there to remember all of the minutiae, so instead I focus on learning the general principles and where more information on various subjects can be found, then when I do need to know the details I use these tools to pull it up. That frees my mind to handle more high-level thinking.
It always feels a bit ironic when I'm learning these things about social media and technology's effects on the brain through watching RU-vid videos. I didn't dislike the video - I found it very engaging and informative - but I just thought I should put that out there.
Think about it: you ask a stranger where to find something. They use their smart phone, and help you with answers totally fitting their personality bias, like dislikes et cetra.
I do need to read a book! It's so enjoyable... but before starting reading you can't forget to take a look to all social media accounts or else maybe you may miss something important... and after that extremely important task the reading time is gone and someone won the attention wars and you didn't even notice! =)
This is one of the best youtuber series I've ever seen and it teaches me a lot about how I live my life and what I should probably change! :) Thank you for creating this series!
I don't think people using outdated technology (books) makes any difference, over saturation is one thing but your allowed to read as many books as you like, its just an ineffective way to take it in when you can get visual and audio at the same time.
Aren't you forgetting that if Google takes over the responsibility of doing 28% of the tasks our brain used to do by itself, then we are free to devote that 28% to something else? With Google maps, I can spend less time looking at a map & spend more time looking at the road & be a safer driver....
At around 6 minutes, it sounds like you're implying that books are somehow "better" than other kinds of media, like video (Netflix or RU-vid). I think you might be biased there, maybe because you personally prefer books, or because you associate them with better information, or something like that.
i made a comment on the first video in this series. shortly after that om Thanksgiving i had my latest smart phone stolen. I am still paying on two phones this year that are broken adding up to $1000. So i am going to not get another smart phone for now. or until i can find a tough phone. i am without a smart phone since Thanksgiving. and it only takes a week to realize that you dont need one! i was not a person that let my phone think for me . But i have noticed people are upset with me since i have not gotten another phone. this is odd and scary at the sane time. i use my laptop to look at a map when i went to a place for the first time. but i forgot to write notes to get there. i took 10 min to get someone of there phone to look the address up for me. in the past i would have just looked on the map i always had in my car! but 5 people took the time to see what i wanted then tell me they were busy on their phone. that was strange. finally i got the cashier at 7/11 who took 20 seconds to check and show me the map to find where i had to go. i didnt ask him for directions just a map since i new i was close and i try to still keep the knowledge of how to read a map as something i dont let my phone do even when i had one. love the seires. and this channel .. thanks
Brilliant! Thank you for the video now to go back and catch up on the beginning of the series! And as a completely 'social-cooperative-species': "WE SHARE" this sharing/cooperation is the touchstone of what it means to be a member of the human species. It's not like we choose to be this we are designed by natural selection to be this way. When we see the timeline of: [1] -> [2] -> [3] [1] language -> writing -> [2] remote-reading-listening-seeing (books + newspapers + radio + movies + tv + web) -> [3] remote interactive of all the previous things (THE NET) Then we arrive at NOW But - For Me - Nah - NOT 28% but more like 50% .... and ... the other 50% (owned by Wikipedia)
It is interesting, so we should be more careful to protect our attention and what to put in the extended brain (a collective consciousness that includes Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, AI, etc.)
I think with my brain, and confirm/conflict with Google. I still keep my own calendar without Google, and do most everything manually, with a techno backup. Yeah, I prefer life in “manual.”
A few month ago I bought myself a first smartphone (used to use old Nokia for years), and I hoped that this way Google technologies would be able to actually influence my life, make it easier. Maybe I would've created my daily regime and started to follow it. Or started to receive tips based on my interests... But alas, I live in Russia, and Google here doesn't work the same way. Here, it's nothing more than a search engine( Or, maybe, I'm just too old for all that fancy AI-supported lifestyle. Cos' I'm 21 already and I still find C more fascinating than Java)
I think it's worth pointing out that even though mental tasks we offload onto machines diminishes the skills that we offload to them, our brains are very plastic, where we can enhance other skills.
I watch a huge amount of RU-vid, most of it educational videos, but I don't think it's reducing my attention span; I frequently watch, and pay attention to, 30 min+ mini documentaries on here just for fun and I'm sure I've learnt a lot from RU-vid that I wouldn't have known about otherwise. I also must have read a few thousand pages worth of books in 2018 alone, so I don't see it killing reading.
Yup, it has all my passwords... Unfortunately when I forget my google account password: I have to reset it and then google keeps hold of it. Google somehow reset all my passwords so now I must go back and restore ALL my passwords. Learn from my mistake: Do NOT rely on anything other than pen and paper for your passwords!
Ha! I often feel the same way, and a few days a week I'll intentionally navigate to a new spot without any digital assistance. Just checking that hippocampus is still working, I suppose?
Hmm I wonder if my desire to fill the quiet at work by watching youtube video's has accidentally destroyed a time my mind needed to be "bored" and work through creative issues. and this in effect has cause my to have issues sleeping because my mind just won't stop at the end of the day.
I was thinking, technology is not only electronicts, and so one can think of the extended mind way before the invention of computers and the internet dominance.
Love the videos... the important thing in my opinion is to allow our brains to be stimulated and rest enough... tech has huge benefits, but for profit mentality makes it designed to be addictive.
Well, the video is amazing... But the information kind of depressing I'm afraid. However, ii is thanks to youtube that many of us have had the chance to discover and enjoy your videos!
I spend every day watching videos but I can also finish a book in a single day if I like it. Last week I read Hank Green's book in less than 24 hours so ... 🤷
We shall be as gods, and about ourselves we shall know all things. Technology will banish forgetting, and the stores of undeformed memory will live forever in the cloud, retrievable at will. The name for our remaining problems will be “search”: all we’ll have to do is remember what we’re looking for, master a few tricks for finding it, and, finally, offload the initiation of search onto external prompts that will remind us to remember.
