Why do i google everything

The future of innovation and technology in government for the greater good. Leaders who are shaping the future of business in creative ways. New workplaces, new food sources, new medicine--even an entirely new economic system. Admit it. At a recent lecture sponsored by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce in London, Leslie discussed his book, as well as two types of curiosity: diversive and epistemic.

Diversive curiosity is a hunger for new information, Leslie says. Humans are born with an instinct to be curious, Leslie says. He cites a study that found children between the ages of three and five ask nearly 40, questions. Once children reach school age, their natural curiosity wanes, in part, he theorizes, because learning is hard work. The only way to find out, I reasoned, was to stop using it as my external memory. I'd do a little experiment, I decided, and stop reaching for my phone every time I needed an answer.

Instead, I'd — gasp! I'd be like the character in that film, the one about the Gen X-ers who befriend a cool something couple with an analog fixation. But what's the name of that film!? When it didn't surface I knew I'd have to cheat right out of the gate. This idea was important to my story. Journalistic necessity and all that. That was my only cheat.

For a week no Googling the flotsam and jetsam of daily trivia. No Google Maps by default in the car, no crowdsourcing. In the process, I wondered, would my flaccid, idling brain get a little boost? To find out, I asked Dr. Richard Carmona, former U. While many of us are certainly hooked on our phones , he assured me to a degree comparable to heroin for addicted person , the answer isn't in yet on the lazy brain question, he said.

This constant information feed, it seems, can help us create more neural networks that will actually help us remember things. What's more, he pointed out, not availing ourselves of immediate answers comes at a cost. Taking away the phone of a person who's addicted to it increases blood pressure and anxiety. And how about the cost of our time, and the stress?

I quickly understood this point while writing a travel story about Cleveland. In mentioning the city's lovely public square, I wanted to note that the designer was also behind New York's elevated park. Though I'd been there the name remained stubbornly out of reach.

My brain churned in the background all day searching for that elusive name. The knowledge that it was so readily available — just pick up your phone! Hours later, after spacing out during a TV show , after running through hundreds of word combinations — I knew it was two one-syllable words — it hit me. I won't lie. It was a sweet victory. But what had happened here? Email any technology gripes to cyberclinic independent. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies.

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