Comments on: The outsourced brain http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/2007/10/30/the-outsourced-brain/ learning, networks, knowledge, technology, community Sat, 4 Feb 2012 22:56:23 -0500 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 By: Pat Parslow http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/2007/10/30/the-outsourced-brain/comment-page-1/#comment-840 Pat Parslow Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:17:09 +0000 http://dnorman.tlc.ucalgary.ca/elearnspace/?p=3112#comment-840 I am not at all convinced that this need be read as ironic at all. It seems to me that a key issue relating to effective learning is the ability to forget, and if we are in a position to offload the remembering of information onto technology, we can make more use of our ability to recognise patterns and draw inferences. For me, understanding does not require me to remember a lot of facts. I only need them to be able to explain to other people how my understanding of things fits with their experience. I use facts for forming a common basis of communication, and, sadly, for those times when others need to assess my abilities. Of course, the act of communicating my understanding also helps me learn, by forcing me to express vague concepts and relationships in language others can take and re-use. I would go further - holding information about things in my mind forces my understanding to be more shallow, because I will automatically be relating any theories to that information. If I can forget the facts for long enough to be able to explore alternate solutions, I can always go back to them to test my theories if I know where the data is. This, to me, is one of the strengths of the idea of connectivism. I am not at all convinced that this need be read as ironic at all. It seems to me that a key issue relating to effective learning is the ability to forget, and if we are in a position to offload the remembering of information onto technology, we can make more use of our ability to recognise patterns and draw inferences.
For me, understanding does not require me to remember a lot of facts. I only need them to be able to explain to other people how my understanding of things fits with their experience. I use facts for forming a common basis of communication, and, sadly, for those times when others need to assess my abilities.
Of course, the act of communicating my understanding also helps me learn, by forcing me to express vague concepts and relationships in language others can take and re-use.
I would go further – holding information about things in my mind forces my understanding to be more shallow, because I will automatically be relating any theories to that information. If I can forget the facts for long enough to be able to explore alternate solutions, I can always go back to them to test my theories if I know where the data is.
This, to me, is one of the strengths of the idea of connectivism.

]]> By: George Siemens http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/2007/10/30/the-outsourced-brain/comment-page-1/#comment-839 George Siemens Wed, 31 Oct 2007 17:39:57 +0000 http://dnorman.tlc.ucalgary.ca/elearnspace/?p=3112#comment-839 Hi Tom - thanks for the reminder :)...of Plato. You raise on important point - i.e. the distinction between outsourcing parts of our brain and the relation to understanding. In a recent presentation, I explored this, but must admit, I'm not fully at peace yet with how today's tools - blogs, wikis, bokmarking, 2L, etc. - contribute to deep understanding. As we distribute ourselves to a network of technologies, does our understanding suffer? And if so, what are the principles we need to be aware of in order to ensure deep understanding occurs? George Hi Tom – thanks for the reminder :) …of Plato. You raise on important point – i.e. the distinction between outsourcing parts of our brain and the relation to understanding. In a recent presentation, I explored this, but must admit, I’m not fully at peace yet with how today’s tools – blogs, wikis, bokmarking, 2L, etc. – contribute to deep understanding. As we distribute ourselves to a network of technologies, does our understanding suffer? And if so, what are the principles we need to be aware of in order to ensure deep understanding occurs?

George

]]> By: Tom Franklin http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/2007/10/30/the-outsourced-brain/comment-page-1/#comment-838 Tom Franklin Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:46:42 +0000 http://dnorman.tlc.ucalgary.ca/elearnspace/?p=3112#comment-838 This is hardly a new idea. Plato wrote (about writing): Socrates: For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory. Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within them. You have invented an elixir not of memory, but of reminding; and you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom, for they will read many things without instruction and will therefore seem to know many things, when they are for the most part ignorant and hard to get along with, since they are not wise, but only appear wise. Plato, The Phaedrus Translated HN Fowler This is hardly a new idea. Plato wrote (about writing):

Socrates: For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory. Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within them. You have invented an elixir not of memory, but of reminding; and you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom, for they will read many things without instruction and will therefore seem to know many things, when they are for the most part ignorant and hard to get along with, since they are not wise, but only appear wise.

Plato, The Phaedrus Translated HN Fowler

]]>