My Thoughts on The Juggler's Brain

I know, I know, cheesy video game meme. If you've never played the game, you probably won't find the image funny. But, it fits my post and my train of thought. I enjoyed this week's reading assignment a lot and I learned quite a bit.

I learned to read when I was just a toddler and as I grew up it was hard to find me without a book in my hands. I brought books to the dinner table, read in class, you name it. Most of my middle school days were spent reading in class because I was bored at school. I could read for hours, I didn't get distracted, and I remembered a lot of what I had read.

Now to the present time. After reading the passage for this week, I was surprised (although not too surprised) to learn about how using the Internet can rewire your brain. I suppose I never thought about it, but I do really believe that is true. The author said "The Net seizes our attention only to scatter it" and once I stopped and thought about it, it's quite unsettling.

Whenever you're on the web you're bombarded with all sorts of information and it is quite overwhelming. I do believe that has had an impact on my way of thinking. My mind often is loud and scattered and there are plenty of times when I wish I could just clear my head and hit pause. Sometimes I want to concentrate on things but I get distracted by other thoughts. Couple that with the "dings" of text messages and emails and it's hard to sit down and get one thing done at a time! Even while watching football this weekend I noticed what was mentioned on page 131 - programming with infographics and news crawls. You can watch the game and see what people are tweeting and read the news and see scores and other updates and whatever else they cram in there. Good grief!

There are times I wish I could return to my childish brain, the brain that didn't jump from place to place all the time. I never asked for this brain rewiring to happen. I wish it was still so easy to dive into a book and think about nothing else other than the book.

What I mostly got from the article was to, when possible, really take the time to sit down and think deeply about things you read and things you are interested in. Pay attention and process the information so it can settle in your long term memory. I am happy I do find time to read, even if it is just for a few minutes before I go to bed. Other times I will go out somewhere to read and turn my cell phone off.  I read actual books - I am not a fan of eBooks. I actually prefer reading from paper and not from a screen, and a lot of times I will print important papers off just so I have something tangible to highlight and thumb through.

I do think more people are aware of the findings outlined in the chapter, but some can't/don't want to change (he even says on page 134 that people willingly accept distractions). Plenty of students surf the web during class and know they aren't picking up information from the lecture. Lots of people know they are being distracted by the Internet but would rather surf the web than visit the library.

I recall this Lifehacker article from a while back about a study published in Psychological Science. The study suggested spending time in nature can boost cognitive functioning. I've read other studies that say spending time in nature/green areas can help alleviate depression and increase creativity. I think it would do everyone some good to visit a park at least once in a while and bring a book to read!

In summary, I never asked for my brain to be rewired. None of us did. But, if we really put effort into deep thinking and reading and other "healthy" brain activities, I think we'll end up just fine. The author mentioned web surfing having some benefits in old age, but I still think I'll keep my crosswords handy.