by Tammy Clevenger

Created on: June 02, 2009

A form of the old adage "Guns don't kill people. People do." applies to technology as well. Technology does not impoverish the mind, per se. People do. The existence of the video game Halo does not impoverish the mind of my 17-year-old son. His obsession with the game and his incessant cerebral processing of strategies, players and other game-related issues surely takes the place of thoughts that others would consider a more appropriate usage of mental energy. However, with regards to strategic games, the benefits far outweigh the annoyances, teaching players life skills including how to strategically plan and execute a tactic, how to interact with others on different levels and, of course, hand-eye coordination and motor skills.

As a writer, I find that technology makes me quicker, sharper and more prolific. Case in point: researching my master's thesis topic in graduate school in 1990. For this work, my literature reviews were conducted at the University of Illinois and Bradley University campus libraries. I purchased time with the Search Specialist at each of the libraries, sat with the specialists and instructed them while they entered groups of search terms. After many hours and hundreds of dollars, I came away with two lists of journal articles with titles and abstracts, several book summaries and published conference abstracts related to my topic of choice. At the time, I remember thinking how fortunate I was to be able to utilize a computer program to search the literature and how much time I would have to spend if this were not the case.

Fast forward to 2009 and my most recent research article. My literature review consisted of one primary source - Google. From Google, I was able to find additional credible sources and through these sources, I found more - and so on. The literature review cost nothing and I spent about 2 hours total on the process. After I finished the article, I reflected on my efforts of conducting the literature review in the early 90s. Wow! Talk about feeling fortunate! Technology has taken a task that previously cost me a great deal in time and money, and has made the procedure a point-and-click, instantaneous endeavor.

Bill Gates proposed in the 1990s that he would promote "Business at the Speed of Thought" with his mega-company, Microsoft. Technology is making great strides in bringing this concept into fruition. Technology, in fact sharpens the mind when used in positive, healthy ways.

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