Observing the structure and form of a modern human brain and comparing it to our ancestors, in the Homo family, it sparks a reasonable question; how has technology affected the brain? To be more specific, has technology affected the modern human negatively or positively? In order to answer this effectively, let me give you some entail from the beginning. As humans evolved, technology has evolved along with them. Humans have become smarter and more efficient. This is due to various reasons, such as the change in climate and the technology developed within specific eras. Mid-Early humans were built a different way from the modern human. They were short and stocky, resulting in thicker bones, very muscular and carried a larger brain on their necks.
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Still others believe that the reduction in brain size is proof that we have tamed ourselves, just as we domesticated sheep, pigs, and cattle, all of which are smaller-brained than their wild ancestors.”(Discover Magazine) As we have evolved, the need for a larger brain, became less apparent. Over time, we learned how to store information in our brain and the way we applied ourselves to the outer world wasn’t needed as much. Meaning that in past times, humans hunted less and they learned to cultivate food. The brain didn’t have to develop plans on how to navigate, capture, kill and store food. Additionally, homes were being built, instead of being sought out and the danger of predator’s decreased. Humans became more domestic and because of that, the brain shrunk.
Fast forward to the present, the shrinking of the brain can be coherent with the advancement in technology. Due to the upgrade in technology recently, certain parts of the brain have shrunken. Christopher Stringer stated that, “The fact that we increasingly store and process information externally—in books, computers and online—means that many of us can probably get by with smaller brains.”(Scientific American) As such, technology is replacing old ways of storing and processing information and updating it in a way that our brain doesn’t have to be stimulated as much. …show more content…
However, before the major advancements, parts of the brain that are very small today, were highly stimulated. Problems were expressed by hand, without calculators, books and newspapers were being read daily, maps were the source of navigation: In present time, it is the opposite. Due to the specialization, due to today’s technology, people don’t need to do things the old and stimulating way. “Scientists and researchers have pinpointed a problem with GPS and other direction services like Google Maps: we’re given directions to follow, but no context to put it all in. This lack of understanding and personal customization or familiarity makes us more likely to forget something or miss out on a piece of information altogether.” (Online Degree Programs) Technology has hindered the modern human ability to survive without it. Thus making the modern human dumber with advanced
Still others believe that the reduction in brain size is proof that we have tamed ourselves, just as we domesticated sheep, pigs, and cattle, all of which are smaller-brained than their wild ancestors.”(Discover Magazine) As we have evolved, the need for a larger brain, became less apparent. Over time, we learned how to store information in our brain and the way we applied ourselves to the outer world wasn’t needed as much. Meaning that in past times, humans hunted less and they learned to cultivate food. The brain didn’t have to develop plans on how to navigate, capture, kill and store food. Additionally, homes were being built, instead of being sought out and the danger of predator’s decreased. Humans became more domestic and because of that, the brain shrunk.
Fast forward to the present, the shrinking of the brain can be coherent with the advancement in technology. Due to the upgrade in technology recently, certain parts of the brain have shrunken. Christopher Stringer stated that, “The fact that we increasingly store and process information externally—in books, computers and online—means that many of us can probably get by with smaller brains.”(Scientific American) As such, technology is replacing old ways of storing and processing information and updating it in a way that our brain doesn’t have to be stimulated as much. …show more content…
However, before the major advancements, parts of the brain that are very small today, were highly stimulated. Problems were expressed by hand, without calculators, books and newspapers were being read daily, maps were the source of navigation: In present time, it is the opposite. Due to the specialization, due to today’s technology, people don’t need to do things the old and stimulating way. “Scientists and researchers have pinpointed a problem with GPS and other direction services like Google Maps: we’re given directions to follow, but no context to put it all in. This lack of understanding and personal customization or familiarity makes us more likely to forget something or miss out on a piece of information altogether.” (Online Degree Programs) Technology has hindered the modern human ability to survive without it. Thus making the modern human dumber with advanced