iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the
Modern Mind (2008)
by Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan
by Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan
Reading this book remind
me of other books that I’ve read such as Don Tapscott’s Growing Up Digital, Jesse Rice’s The Church of Facebook, Kim Stolz’s Unfriending My Ex and Daniel Sieberg’s The Digital Diet. Basically, all of these books are about how
digital age and technology effect the way we think and behave. What make this
book different is that Gary Small, a neuroscientist and experts on brain
function and behaviour, gives hundreds of researches, studies and experiments
on the human brains to draw conclusions in his book. This book is full of facts
but not as dry as textbook. It’s interesting! I read this book because I want
to understand my students (Digital Natives) and myself (between Digital Natives
and Immigrants) in this always-online generations.
iBrain explores “how technology’s unstoppable march forward
has altered the way young minds develop, function, and interpret information.”
It reveals “a new evolution catalysed by
technological advancement and its future implications.” And iBrain also
offer helps/tips to avoid the potential drawbacks such as ADD (Attention Deficit
Disorder), ADHD (H for Hyperactivity), increased social isolation, Internet
addiction, hyper-multitasking, and so on. They offer tools and strategies
needed to bridge the brain gap, enabling us to compete and shrive in the age of
high-tech immersion.
This book divide into nine
chapters: #1 Your Brain Is Evolving
Right Now; #2 Brain Gap: Technology
Dividing Generations; #3 Addicted to
Technology; #4 Technology and Behaviour:
ADHD, Indigo Children and Beyond; #5
High-Tech Culture: Social, Political and Economic Impact; #6 Brain Evolution: Where Do You Stand Now?;
#7 Reconnecting Face to Face; #8 The Technology Toolkit; and #9 Bridging the Brain Gap; Technology and
The Future Brain.
I learned great deal about
technology addictions, the fall of multitasking activities, the power and
danger of high-tech culture, the important of face-to-face communications and
social skills, the usefulness of physical and brain exercise, and how to
balance technology and off-line life. “All
of us, Digital Natives and Immigrants, will master new technologies and take
advantage of their efficiencies,” writes Gary Small, “but we also need to maintain our people skills and humanity. Whether in
relation to a focused Google search or an empathic listening exercise, our
synaptic responses can be measured, shaped, and optimized to our advantage, and
we can survive the technological adaptation of the modern mind.”
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
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