The Mechanical Brain

Picture this with me: a huge supercomputer, chock-full of complex circuitry, flashing lights. sporadic beeps, pulsating screens. Minuscule next to its gigantic frame, a human approaches and, through voice or keyboard, inputs a question. The machine churns and calculates, eventually returning a response, which the human wordlessly accepts before skulking away.

Sounds like a terrifying future in some apocalyptic sci-fi story, doesn't it? Free thought abandoned in response to the development of a decision-making supercomputer, with humanity absent of any new creativity or innovation. This future, however, may be closer than we think.

Informative sites like Wikipedia, news and opinion aggregates like Reddit, or yes, even educational aids like SparkNotes may all be taking the place of some previous human thought, argue some critics. They seem to lead, in my experience, to the absorption of "factoids" - small, insignificant details rather than true understanding of topics. That's not to say they don't have their uses. At times, these small details are exactly what's needed, particularly in supplement to deeper forms of information.

But why do people tend to so strongly rely on these mentally depressing forms of information? In a word, convenience. With so much information and so many activities available, people tend to pick in choose on what they wish to focus their attention. That in mind, I find that this weakens peoples' abilities to form their own deeper analyses - and while I know I'm guilty of this as well, I'm trying my best to avoid this trap into the future.