My Mind is Made of Pudding
It wasn’t always made of pudding, but through prodigious use of the internet and an overwhelming reliance upon Google, my thoughts now move through my mind at a rate similar to a rather rotund, furry mammal, swimming through pudding … with a parka … and ski boots. Perhaps it’s silly to blame the internet, but I don’t think I’m alone in this accusation, nor am I alone in feeling that the cure to this malady is some old school conversation and learning.
I was killing some time at an airport bookstore when I happened upon What The Internet is Doing to Our Brains. Though I didn't read the book (out of fear of inducing more fear) I was able to deduce that the author felt that the internet was doing us a great disservice by keeping us from thinking a problem through to completion, all on our own. I couldn't agree more.
In fact I was at a beer tasting for Madison Craft Beer week when one taster asked a brewing question that our teacher did not have the answer to. Less than a minute later someone at the end of my table triumphantly gave the answer, smartphone in hand. Our beer teacher sadly lamented the days when men would sit on bar stools and ponder questions over pints for hours without feeling that necessity of an authoritative, digital answer.
So imagine my joy upon seeing an email regarding the opening of The Idler Academy in London. A bookstore and coffee shop that holds regular courses for idle learners. Based on the Greek tradition of casual learning, the academy is "a place to read, think, debate and learn, to sharpen your mind…." Can you imagine people asking questions without someone saying I have to Google that later?
I miss my days of philosophy classes where young, clever students would banter with each other over futile topics such as the existence of one another or the basis for ethics. Questions that other scholars had attempted to answer absolutely and failed. Yet the conceited minds in Philosophy 204 were determined to get to the bottom of things!
So is anyone else out there suffering from mental slowness or yearning for pre-digital days? Whether you blame the internet or not, what do you do to keep your mind sharp and your head clear? Do you miss lengthy deep conversations or are you happy to have answers at your fingertips? I'd love to hear what you have to say.