Do software-generated "connections" really generate inspiration?

Posted by Cassius
Oct 25, 2007 at 06:56 PM

Steve Diamond’s comments about thought processes are provoking. He is certainly correct about writing.

Did the invention of writing and reading increase the effective intelligence of people who practiced it? It appears to have diminished the ability to retain information in memory. Would we think better without the written word, if it meant that our brains would store more information?

It certainly appears that the written word has enhanced the development of civilization in some ways, if for no other reason that it has enabled the communication of ideas and information over distance and among many people.

From personal experience, I believe that there are several “avenues” involved in thought processing and memory.

While teaching, I had a student who could verbally answer an advanced calculus question, but could not do so on paper.

My son, when younger, could not memorize even addition tables. Yet, he could look at a movie poster, come home, and reproduce it almost perfectly.

I suspect that all of the senses contribute to the thought process, with some being more “active/dominant” in some people than in others.

-c