An article published in the journal Science this month discusses how the Google effect is changing the way we remember things. One of the authors talks about an idea Wenger wrote about 30 years ago called transactive memory where we rely on others to remember things for us. For example my wife remembers birthdays and I remember the names and stars of movies. Eventually, psychologist Betsy Sparrow was able to show people were adept at remembering where the answers were stored easier than the answer itself. Now with Google, it seems the answers are always stored right at our fingertips. Will this affect memory in the future if we becoem so reliant on Google and less reliant on our own memory? Or, will we just use our brain in a different way by remembering where we saw the information so that we can get there quicker. My wife will still need to remember birthdays, but my IMDB app has taken over the responsibility of remembering the name of the person who directed "Rebecca."
Here is the link to story introducing the study. (If you want to read the study itself, you have to have a paid subscription)
By the way, Hitchcock directed "Rebecca."
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