by Lon Elliott

Created on: February 11, 2009

Everyone has heard the phrase "if you don't use it, you lose it". This happens to be a truer statement than you think. It applies to just about any facet of your life. If you do not work out, you lose muscle tone. If you do not cook, you forget that not adding butter causes the eggs to burn.

To think this somehow does not apply to your mind when it comes to electronics is downright absurd. For proof, all you need to do is walk into your nearest fast food restaurant. The person taking your order needs do to nothing more than push the buttons with the pictures on it. They no longer have to think, or calculate the amount to be returned to you.

Today, in most high schools, children use calculators for their math work. Asking them to do even the simplest math in their heads is usually met with down right anger that you would even have them consider doing the math in their heads.

With the introduction of the
Iphone and hand held GPS devices, you no longer need to remember where you park your car. You do not have to figure out in your head what your tip should be on a 30 dollar tab. This is a prime example of how far we have fallen due to the convenience of hand held electronics. To be able to figure out 15 percent of 30 dollars should be 4th grade math at this point.

Do not get me wrong. These hand held devices and electronics make our lives much simpler. We no longer have to do these things. What does it free our time for though? Do you spend the extra time with your family? Do you spend the time doing hobbies? Most people spend the time watching TV or working. To that end, what have we gained? Now we have more free time, that is wasted, and we are not capable of doing basic math in our heads.

This is the double edged sword we all face. Of course we want to have more free time. We all want the easy tasks done for us. The question is, at what cost to our cognitive functions? How many of us are willing to let the machines do our easy tasks, yet actively take on tasks and projects that keep our minds strong and active? Is there any doubt why we have kids today that spend more time playing their xbox, than outside? What is there to learn from killing your one thousandth zombie on left 4 dead?

Technology is a blessing and a curse at the same time. To borrow a great phrase though. If we do not use it, we will lose it.

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