Is technology making us dumber? Researchers in Norway and France conducted a study that suggests using a keyboard or touchscreen to write is a different cognitive process than writing by hand. The study will be published in the journal of Advances in Haptics.
Brain scans showed that little learning activity takes place in the brains of people who studied with a keyboard. But conversely, those who wrote by hand benefited from motor memory, by etching a memory in the sensory motor part of the brain.
Co-author of the study, Anne Mangen, said, "Our bodies are designed to interact with the world which surrounds us. We are living creatures, geared toward using physical objects -- be it a book, a keyboard or a pen -- to perform certain tasks."
Maybe it's time to trade in the iPad for an iFountain pen.
When was the last time you wrote something by hand? Perhaps a letter to a friend or relative? Let me know here or email me, at [email protected] (or write me a letter).
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