Photo from open sources “Digital revolution, which happens before our eyes, makes the brain evolve right now – and at an unprecedented pace, “- so assures us of his new book, Brain Online, by a famous American psychiatrist, Professor of Los Angeles University and Director of the Science Center on aging Gary Small. – A new race enters the scene – digital natives that hi-tech has surrounded since infancy – assures the professor. – Just imagine: for the development of the brain before it the current state took several hundred thousand years, and for the evolution that happens under the influence of modern technology, one generation was enough! This is the most unexpected and the most significant turning point in human history. But it turns out not only our brain succumbed to remaking so quickly. Our is changing tongue. Today, many linguists, however, so far only English-speaking, they ask such questions: “Is it possible to consider such a thing as texting, a disaster for the English language? Or is it something special, with a limited, utilitarian character? “And Specialist John MacWorth from Columbia University (USA) leans toward the second answer. In his opinion, this is new, syncretic form of speech and writing at the same time. Here and there you can hear that SMS communication is the scourge of modern youth, which because of this is growing completely illiterate. But Mr. Macworth offers to look at the phenomenon in a different way: it’s just not the same a writing method to which we are accustomed historically. – current writing usually does not reflect everyday speech, ”the linguist explains. – We speak in series – packets – seven to ten words each. This is bigger It looks like a telegraph. And if you write as we say? In those times, when the words had to be printed on paper (papyrus, parchment) manually, it was difficult. Now we type the words, and that’s “finger speech” – that’s what Macuorter calls it. Primitivization the letters are obvious: the capital letters disappear, they are violated grammar and spelling rules. Still born before our eyes a new and rather complex writing structure that is designed to reflect the speed (telegraph) and “packet” nature of simple speech. We speak without thinking about capital letters, commas and question marks. Speaking, we only produce sounds. Exactly so does a teenager who is frantically typing SMS. – Is not the death of writing and language is evolution, the scientist assures. SPECIALIST COMMENT Doctor of Biological Sciences, psychologist Yuri Shcherbatykh: – Our brain is very plastic and fast. adapts to a new reality. In recent years, even sex becomes virtual, not to mention friendly communication. Yes, and new young people prefer to search for information not in books, but in Yandex. But the current change is not bad, it is different than it was earlier. The world is changing, and the human brain is trying to find effective ways to adapt to these changes. Concerning memory, then the property to remember the place where the desired information, and not itself, is a sign that people’s memory has not become worse. It’s just that now we are organizing a huge amount of other things available information, we change the way of remembering. Handhelds and smartphones have deprived us of the need to remember phones and lists affairs, but it allows you to occupy your head with other things. I don’t think which, for example, Facebook or Google makes us stupid. And Twitter messengers and SMS have a positive side: they teach us to brevity and a clearer expression of thought. Svetlana Cousin
Evolution
