As part of some casual research I'm doing on system interfaces, I'm currently reading a book by prominent nueroscientist, Lady Susan Greenfield. It's pretty interesting, although, at this stage (40 pages in), it's little more than a stream of consciousness.
At this stage too, and aside from some thoughts about possible apocalypse, Dr Greenfield seems pretty enamoured about technology and its impact on our lives.
It's a shame then, to see her associated with articles in rags like the UK Daily Mail (potentially the biggest disaster of a mainstream news and media outlet, ever).
Viewed independently and away from the garbage that so epitomises the Mail, Greenfield's comments are mildly thought-provoking, and align with some thoughts so far in the book:
'My fear is that these technologies are infantilising the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment.'
'I often wonder whether real conversation in real time may eventually give way to these sanitised and easier screen dialogues, in much the same way as killing, skinning and butchering an animal to eat has been replaced by the convenience of packages of meat on the supermarket shelf,' she said.
Contrary to my early thoughts, I'm told if you look further into her work (and finish the book), she puts across a fairly negative view of technology and how it will affect our lives in the future.
On this latest article, some have become quite appalled with her comments and behavior on this topic, seeing it as scaremongering and invalid, and based entirely on... nothing. No fact, no science, just her opinion.
Considering this type of article will be heartily digested by millions of people and become their default stance on the topic, you wonder if those who are upset have a point.
What do you think - will social networking sites and the way we're changing our behaviours to suit them and other web phenomena really rot our brains, or is this unabashed rubbish, appearing in a suitably - and similarly unabashed - rubbish newspaper?
