Can Search Make You Smarter?
On Tuesday, CNN reported that searching the Internet may actually make us smarter.
Dr. Gary Small who is a professor at the University of California and Los Angeles (UCLA) conducted a study with two groups of elder adults. One group was familiar with search and the Internet while the other group probably did not have a clue as to how to turn on a computer.
“The way I theorized is that when we are confronted with new mental challenges, we don’t know how to deal with it,” Small said. “We don’t engage neural circuits. Once we figure out a strategy, we engage those circuits. ”
The results were interesting. The group that was more Internet savvy showed an astonishing amount of brain activity- more than twice then the technologically challenged group of elder adults. The activity occurred in the parts of the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning.
Small also said that he didn’t understand why the brain activity was higher in those adults with previous computer experience and knowledge. He also didn’t credit a specific search engine for the increased brain activity.
Small encourages older adults to learn how to use search engines. “This could be exercising their brain and their neural circuitry in a way that’s helpful.”
