Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Animals lovers think ALIKE !!


On this year's "Max" holiday card, Teddy Maximus proclaimed - "I think, I emote, Therefore I am".
Check out Irene Pepperberg (of Alex and me) answer to Edge Annual Question: How has internet changed the way you think?
"I THINK, THEREFORE I AM — STILL ME
The Internet hasn't changed the way I think; it hasn't altered one whit the way in which I — that is, my brain—processes information…other than maybe by forcing me to figure out how to process a lot more of it. Consciously, I still use the same scientific training that was drummed into me as an undergraduate and graduate student in theoretical chemistry, even when it comes to evaluating aspects of my daily life: Based on a certain preliminary amount of information, I develop a hypothesis and try to refine it so that it differs from any competing equally plausible hypotheses; I test the hypothesis; if it is proven true, I rest my case within the limits of that hypothesis, accepting that I may have solved only one piece of a puzzle; if it is proven false, I revise and repeat the procedure.
Maybe the Internet has given me more things to think about, but that doesn't fundamentally change the way I think. Rather, what has changed, and is still changing, is my relationship with the Internet — from unabashed infatuation to disillusionment to a kind of armed truce. And, no, I'm not sidestepping the question, because until the Internet actually rewires my brain, it won't change my processing abilities. Of course, such rewiring may be in the offing, and quite possibly sooner than we expect, but that's not yet the case.
So, my changing love-hate relationship with the Internet."

Feels good when thoughts are in harmony with a fellow animal lover!! Internet hasn't changed the way I think but its has helped me to think more, thanks to plethora of information. For me internet has been an instigator, a catalyst -  to start a spark, speculate on something or constantly feed the curiosity and then I go back to the old fashioned way to books and lectures (on internet) to learn and reflect upon. Did internet help me think better? Yes, it did without re-wriring me (may be it did,  I cannot see or feel my NGF).

I think the answer to the edge question differs depending upon our personality - how we use the internet or how we get used (abused) by the internet.

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