26 January 2010

Can our Brains Cope?

The human brain is amazing, but does it have a finite capacity? A number of commentators have recently suggested that the sheer volume of information that bombards us in our media-rich 7x24 world is causing us to behave in different ways. Some believe it is causing us to lose focus and develop shorter attention spans, some even think that it is causing our brains to physically change.

The people who take this view often point to the TV and video-game culture of the young as being to blame – where inputs have instant results. Other suggest that the multi-tasking nature of computer system is causing us to behave in a similar way - not concentrating on one thing for any length of time and instead trying to do multiple things at once.

However, other commentators argue that the deluge of information is beneficial as it provides a constant stimulus and that our brains will respond by evolving even faster.

What is your view?

Click here to read the full article on the MyBrain website.

2 comments:

  1. I know that people talk about the damage being done to young minds by video games and too much TV, but weren’t we just as obsessive as children, but about different things. Are the toys of today really that different?

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  2. I agree with Roger. My wife was worried when my son got a copy of Grand Theft Auto for his PlayStation, but I am not sure that it is really any different to the games I used to play with my Action Man toy when I was a child. The only difference is that he has never burnt himself trying to recreate napalm!

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