Jan 4, 2008
Don’t Outsource Your Brain
By: Alvaro Fernandez
We have suggested before (The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Brains)…
“Don’t Outsource Your Brain. Not to media personalities, not to politicians, not to your smart neighbour… Make your own decisions, and mistakes. And learn from them. That way, you are training your brain, not your neighbour’s.”
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Well, let me add now: Don’t Outsource Your Brain to Your GPS system, either…
Read article: here (via Drudge)
- “A 32-year-old Californian whose rental car got smashed by a Metro-North train last night was issued a minor summons for causing the fiery crash that stranded railroad commuters for hours.”
- “Bo Bai, a computer technician from Sunnyvale who said he was merely trusting his car’s global positioning system when he steered onto the tracks, was cited for obstructing a railroad crossing, officials said this afternoon.”
Fortunately, the driver was safe, and there were no injuries. The article deserves reading…here.
[...] Third, as Alvaro pointed out on a recent Sharp Brains blog, many of us ‘outsource our brains’ and no longer think for ourselves. With mass media messages, GPS systems, calculators, spell checkers and electronic organizers, we must ask the question how well we could function without them. I know I am guilty of this one, myself. [...]
I have made it a point for many years to manually balance my checkbook, for this very reason. I also think, much like folding physical fitness strategies into everyday life, that we need to do the same for our mental fitness. For instance, I take the stairs and do not take escalators, every day. I also park far away from the store and walk, as well as park on the street and walk several blocks to my residence. Similarly, using our minds to do everyday tasks helps us stay cognitively sharper and fitter. Ancillary technology is helpful, but need not nor should not replace our own abilities, but could enhance and support them when used appropriately.
Jim, great analogies, and suggestion. Thank you!
Would you mind balancing my checkbook too?