School of Thinking

Archive for February, 2009

Is Social Networking Killing You?

Posted on February 26th, 2009 by Michael

New York Times:
Well, no, probably not. Or at least, not literally. But two British scientists have recently suggested that spending all day, and — admit it — much of the night networking on a computer might in fact be bad for your body and your brain.

No less an authority on the brain’s workings than Susan Greenfield, a professor of pharmacology at Oxford University and the director of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, told a British newspaper on Tuesday that social networking sites remind her of the way that “small babies need constant reassurance that they exist” and make her worry about the effects that this sort of stimulation is having on the brains of users. Lady Greenfield (she’s a neuroscientist and a baroness) told the Daily Mail:

My fear is that these technologies are infantilizing the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment.

••• Click through here to the original article …

The consequences are coming …

Posted on February 25th, 2009 by Michael

Blossoming and Pruning. How is a child’s brain developed?

Posted on February 22nd, 2009 by Michael

Do We Need a New Internet?

Posted on February 18th, 2009 by Michael

Should you rock the boat?

Posted on February 17th, 2009 by Michael

Electors are customers, too …

Posted on February 16th, 2009 by Michael

Charles Darwin – 200th Anniversary today.

Posted on February 12th, 2009 by Michael

AUSTRALIAN ANTHILL INTERVIEW: Michael Hewitt-Gleeson

Posted on February 12th, 2009 by Michael

Black Saturday in Victoria

Posted on February 11th, 2009 by Michael

Smart Thinking: Artificial Intelligence

Posted on February 10th, 2009 by Michael