The Vannevar Bush’s As We May Think raises the idea that”For years inventions have extended man’s physical powers rather than the powers of his mind.” I agree with this idea in the sense that what is required of somebody to perform various tasks such as gathering information through research is becoming progressively easier as the technologies become more accessible. For example with the wealth of information at our finger tips as a result of the widespread accessibility of the internet, there is less of a need to actually know and have learned information.

I don’t believe that technology makes people stupid, although it does create a culture where knowledge itself is less valued as it is so readily available via external sources. If you want to know who starred in Seven Samurai, instead of taking the opportunity to exercise your neural synapses, you simply google it, instantly being presented with all relevant information.

An example of the reputable information freely available on the internet

Formal training or mastery are no longer necessary for many practices to which they were once essential. For the first time historically any information is freely available to be accessed at the requestors connivence, free from structured learning or commitment. This means that anybody who is willing and able can learn a trade for example, or a musical instrument, these skills were previously only available through formal avenues of education.

An example of readily available publicly created learning resources.

This idea of self teaching has both positives and negatives, for example widely available information leads to a more intelligent populous, however those who are free to gather information are also free to provide it, this may lead to misinformation being passed on in a broad scale as non accredited sources may be perceived as entirely factual.

A very real quote from Abraham Lincoln Courtesy: http://www.blakemore-noble.net/