Delegated Memory
Turns out I don't know my neighbourhood as well as I thought I did. Despite having lived here for a long, long time, I don't actually know the road names around here. I mean, I know the big ones and, certainly, the giant motorway nearby, but I only know a hand full of actual road names. While on my walk today I got stopped on two occasions by an elderly person asking me for directions. In both instances, they were pondering walking or taking the bus. They presented me, both times, with a piece of paper with and address and a post code. I had no idea where those roads were.
I had my phone so I typed the address into Google Maps and, boom, there it was in both instances. The funny thing is once I saw a google street image of the addresses, I immediately knew where they were. So, I did know the places, visually, but just didn't know the street names. I think the problem may be technology. The same reason why I no longer remember phone numbers whereas before, back in the day, I could memorise and recollect dozens of numbers with ease.
Some people still have these names in their heads, especially older people. I think most young people don't bother memorising things anymore. That part of our brain has been delegated to computers in the form of our smartphones. Even worse, our smartphones have delegated the job to the "cloud" - where everything is centrally processed and disseminated to everyone. I wonder what effect that has on our brains.
My friend's dad, who's in his late 70s, has one of the sharpest minds I've ever encountered. He's supposed to be getting slow, but he's sharper than ever. He told me his secret was Sudoku and cross word puzzles which he has been doing for decades since he was in his teens. He just never stopped doing them. As a result, his brain has remained active, having been constantly challenged with problem solving tasks daily.
In my past studies about brain plasticity, it has been shown that our brain can adapt and form new connections, even when older. We can actively fight some of the mental degradation that occurs in later life simply by tasking our brains constantly, especially when young. We can also build new connections in our brains which can be recruited for other functions later in life. For instance, people that play musical instruments like the piano can find that their brains are more resilient to Alzheimer's disease later in life.
Anyhow, I was born and grew up when we didn't have mobile devices of any kind. I'm lucky in that respect I suppose. I feel a little sorry for the ones that are being born in this age. Mind you, that's what the previous generation before mine thought of my generation I suppose. Those that are born in this ear are more adapted to things of this age, including being digital natives. I've observed some infants operate smartphones and tablets with incredible ease. Most 5 year olds can very easily grab an iPad and order something off the Amazon app or find a video on YouTube. Most 80 year olds would probably need help completing those tasks - at least for the first time. To quote a classic song, "The Times They Are a-Changin'"
Peace & Love,
Adé