[Paleopsych] News.com: Intelligence in the Internet age

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Intelligence in the Internet age
By Stefanie Olsen
Story last modified Mon Sep 19 04:00:00 PDT 2005
http://news.com.com/2102-11395_3-5869719.html?tag=st.util.print

[Thanks to Eugen for this.]

It's a question older than the Parthenon: Do innovations and new technologies 
make us more intelligent?

A few thousand years ago, a Greek philosopher, as he snacked on dates on a 
bench in downtown Athens, may have wondered if the written language folks were 
starting to use was allowing them to avoid thinking for themselves.

Today, terabytes of easily accessed data, always-on Internet connectivity, and 
lightning-fast search engines are profoundly changing the way people gather 
information. But the age-old question remains: Is technology making us smarter? 
Or are we lazily reliant on computers, and, well, dumber than we used to be? 
News.context

What's new: Philosophers, technologists and writers are debating whether new 
innovations and technologies make us smarter or just lazily reliant on 
computers.

Bottom line:

The ability to reason and learn won't fundamentally change because of 
technology. On the other hand, technology, from pocket calculators to the 
Internet, is radically changing the notion of the intelligence necessary to 
function in the modern world.

More stories on this topic

"Our environment, because of technology, is changing, and therefore the 
abilities we need in order to navigate these highly information-laden 
environments and succeed are changing," said Susana Urbina, a professor of 
psychology at the University of North Florida who has studied the roots of 
intelligence.

If there is a good answer to the question, it probably starts with a 
contradiction: What makes us intelligent--the ability to reason and learn--is 
staying the same and will never fundamentally change because of technology. On 
the other hand, technology, from pocket calculators to the Internet, is 
radically changing the notion of the intelligence necessary to function in the 
modern world.

Take Diego Valderrama, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank in San 
Francisco. If he were an economist 40 years ago, he may have used a paper, 
pencil and slide rule to figure out and chart by hand how the local economy 
might change with a 1 percent boost in taxes. But because he's a thoroughly 
modern guy, he uses knowledge of the C++ programming language to create 
mathematical algorithms to compute answers and produce elaborate projections on 
the impact of macroeconomic changes to work forces or consumer consumption.

Does that mean he's not as bright as an economist from the 1950s? Is he 
smarter? The answer is probably "no" on both counts. He traded one skill for 
another. Computer skills make him far more efficient and allow him to present 
more accurate--more intelligent--information. And without them, he'd have a 
tough time doing his job. But drop him into the Federal Reserve 40 years ago, 
and a lack of skill with the slide rule could put an equal crimp on his career. 
"The notion that the world's knowledge is literally at your fingertips is very 
compelling and is very beguiling." --Vint Cerf, Internet pioneer

Intelligence, as it impacts the economist Valderrama, is our capacity to adapt 
and thrive in our own environment. In a Darwinian sense, it's as true now as it 
was millions of years ago, when man's aptitude for hearing the way branches 
broke or smelling a spore affected his power to avoid predators, eat and 
survive.

But what makes someone smart can vary in different cultures and situations. A 
successful Wall Street banker who has dropped into the Australian Outback 
likely couldn't pull off a great Crocodile Dundee impression. A mathematical 
genius like Isaac Newton could be--in fact, he was--socially inept and a 
borderline hermit. A master painter? Probably not so good at balancing a 
checkbook.

What's undeniable is the Internet's democratization of information. It's 
providing instant access to information and, in a sense, improving the 
practical application of intelligence for everyone.

Nearly a century ago, Henry Ford didn't have the Internet, but he did have a 
bunch of smart guys. The auto industry pioneer, as a parlor trick, liked to 
claim he could answer any question in 30 minutes. In fact, he had organized a 
research staff he could call at any time to get him the answer.

Today, you don't have to be an auto baron to feign that kind of knowledge. You 
just have to be able to type G-O-O-G-L-E. People can in a matter of minutes 
find sources of information like court documents, scientific papers or 
corporate securities filings. "It's true we don't remember anything anymore, 
but we don't need to." --Jeff Hawkins, co-founder, Palm Computing

"The notion that the world's knowledge is literally at your fingertips is very 
compelling and is very beguiling," said Vint Cerf, who co-created the 
underlying architecture of the Internet and who is widely considered one of its 
"fathers." What's exciting "is the Internet's ability to absorb such a large 
amount of information and for it to be accessible to other people, even if they 
don't know it exists or don't know who you are."

Indeed, Doug Engelbart, one of the pioneers of personal computing technology in 
the 1960s, envisioned in the early '60s that the PC would augment human 
intelligence. He believes that society's ability to gain insight from 
information has evolved with the help of computers.

"The key thing about all the world's big problems is that they have to be dealt 
with collectively," Engelbart said. "If we don't get collectively smarter, 
we're doomed."

The virtual memory According to at least one definition, intelligence is the 
"ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas 
and language, and learn." Yet intelligence is not just about book learning or 
test scores; it also reflects a deeper understanding of the world. On average, 
people with high IQs are thought to live longer, earn more money, process 
information faster and have larger working memories.

Yet could all this information provided by the Internet and gadgets dampen our 
motivation to remember anything?

Working with the Treo handheld computing device he helped create, Jeff Hawkins 
can easily recount exactly what he did three years ago on Sept. 8, factor 9,982 
and Pi, or describe a weather system over the Pacific Ocean. But without his 
"smart" phone, he can't recall his daughter's telephone number offhand.

It's a familiar circumstance for people living in the hyper-connected Internet 
age, when it has become easier to program a cell phone or computer--instead of 
your brain--to recall facts or other essential information. In some sense, our 
digital devices do the thinking for us now, helping us with everything from 
calendar scheduling and local directions to in-depth research and 
"Jeopardy"-like trivia. "The key thing about all the world's big problems is 
that they have to be dealt with collectively. If we don't get collectively 
smarter, we're doomed." --Doug Engelbart, personal computing visionary

"It's true we don't remember anything anymore, but we don't need to," said 
Hawkins, the co-founder of Palm Computing and author of a book called "On 
Intelligence."

"We might one day sit around and reminisce about having to remember phone 
numbers, but it's not a bad thing. It frees us up to think about other things. 
The brain has a limited capacity, if you give it high-level tools, it will work 
on high-level problems," he said.

Only 600 years ago, people relied on memory as a primary means of communication 
and tradition. Before the printed word, memory was essential to lawyers, 
doctors, priests and poets, and those with particular talents for memory were 
revered. Seneca, a famous teacher of rhetoric around A.D. 37, was said to be 
able to repeat long passages of speeches he had heard years before. "Memory," 
said Greek playwright Aeschylus, "is the mother of all wisdom."

People feared the invention of the printing press because it would cause people 
to rely on books for their memory. Today, memory is more irrelevant than ever, 
argue some academics.

"What's important is your ability to use what you know well. There are people 
who are walking encyclopedias, but they make a mess of their lives. Getting a 
100 percent on a written driving test doesn't mean you can drive," said Robert 
Sternberg, dean of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University and a professor of 
psychology.

Tomorrow: A look at what makes us smart in the Internet age. And what happens 
when the lights go out?