Smoke Pot- Not E-mail

[Karenina]

MORFORD HITS ANOTHER ONE OUT OF THE BALLPARK!

http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/morford/

Smoke Pot, Not E-mail
In which it is proven that excessive info lust makes you dumber than a happy pothead. Isn't that great?

By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist

Friday, May 13, 2005

<snip>

It's true. It has now been proven. A new study sponsored by Hewlett-Packard shows we are now being openly pummeled like Arctic baby seals by our own glorious and demonic tech creations, that when we indulge in huge relentless gobs of e-mail use and cell phone use and instant messaging and Blackberries, et al., that we are, in fact, enduring the ongoing death of brain cells, the happy suicide of mental capacity, a very noticeable drop-off of IQ points.

And, according to the study, this drop-off is even more pronounced than the happily incapacitated state we enjoy after smoking a large, happy joint. A spliff. Gangster. Kif. Ganja. Only without the dry mouth and the giddiness and the swoony sparkle and the smooth mellow bliss and the desperate right-now urge to lick a very large salty pizza and then have sex and take a nap.

<snip>

On first blush, the next generation, they appear to get it. They are wired like a telephone pole. They speak the lingo and are fluent in ring-tone programming and iPod bells and HTML whistles and nothing but nothing in the tech sphere gets by them and you'd think, wow, these kids, they must be info supergenuises by now, so aswim are they in giant pools of gizmos and information and communication ease.

But then you hear them speak. They you hear them try to form a complete sentence about an actual subject of interest and struggle to form a single nuanced and careful thought that has nothing to do with what was on the WB or what video they just watched on their PSP or what their friend just text-messaged them on their Nokia, and you hear them fumble and slur and fall into huge pits of painful, tortured Bush-like grammar and you go, oh my freaking god we are in deep, deep trouble...

morford at link:

http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/morford/

[orpupilofnature57]

1. Like the guy in "Repo-Man" said " Driving makes people stupid"

Thats why i walk.

[im10ashus]

2. That's bloody brilliant!

Interesting study. I think I better step away from the computer, turn off the blackberry and fax machine, put the cell phone back in the charger and fire one up.

[Andy_Stephenson]

4. Don't forget to pass it in

this direction.

[Karenina]

6. Here, take this one, boyfriend!

:smoke: 10ashus tends to bogart... Thinking of you! :loveya:

Welcome to DU im10ashus!!!

[Karenina]

3. Morford is FUNNY!

:kick:

[ultraist]

The IQ drop was more pronounced in men

Likely, because women are better at multitasking.

But the study said "an average worker's functioning IQ falls 10 points when distracted by ringing telephones and incoming e-mails ... more than double the four-point drop seen following studies on the impact of smoking marijuana." The report cited a 2002 report on marijuana use by researchers from Carleton University in Ottawa.

The research found that 62 percent of adults are addicted to checking e- mail and text messages. Half of the workers would "respond to an e-mail immediately or within 60 minutes." One in five is "happy to interrupt a business or social meeting to respond to an e-mail or telephone message."

The 10-point drop in IQ was even more significant in men than women who took part in the tests, HP said. The IQ decline was the equivalent of missing a whole night's sleep, the company said. The study also found that 89 percent of workers think colleagues who respond to e-mails or messages during meetings are "extremely rude." Paradoxically, 30 percent believe doing so is acceptable and even diligent. Debra Meyerson, professor of organizational behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, echoed the study's finding that "being accessible all the time is a source of stress."

"The boundaries between work and nonwork are now constructed by people turning technology on and off," said Myerson, who is involved in a study on the impact of technology on everyday life


Funny article, yes, but also interesting study.

[ultraist]

5. sorry dupe!

[Karenina]

7. dupe kick!

:kick:

[Karenina]

8. Wee hours Monday kick!

It's a HOLIDAY HERE!!! Nya, nya!!! Dem Catholics, ya GOTTA LOVE 'EM!!!
Das heisst Pfingsten Montag.

And Morford is FUNNY!!!