Dr. Gary Small

When was the last time you were completely disconnected from the digital web? In other words, when was the last time you shut the laptop, turned off the television, tossed the Blackberry, and didn’t worry about your friends or your boss not being able to find you online at a moment’s notice? When you were [...]

Ever had that “tip-of-the-tongue” phenomenon? “Oh, what’s her name? It’s right on the tip of my tongue!” Most of us have experienced this at one time or another, but maybe you’ve noticed it happening more frequently. Luckily, you don’t have to settle for this “middle-aged brain” symptom.
On NPR this morning, Dr. Gary Small gave information [...]

Have you ever gone back to a place you’ve been to before and been convinced that it’s on the other side of the street or that there is something different about it? Do you ever get annoyed with yourself for misplacing your keys or (for me) your glasses? These are a [...]

They must do it to play psychological games with us.
When you live in California, it’s always another year of drought. No matter how many deluges of flooding rain you’ve waded through during the winter, the following summer you can’t water your lawn because of draught.
Every weatherperson I could find on the radio, television, internet and [...]

The rapid pace of information constantly assaulting our brains challenges our ability to pay full attention to any one thing. Our email, twitters, texts, and instant messages pressure us into quick responses that lead us to sacrifice detail and accuracy… The mental clutter, noise and frequent interruptions that assail us further fuel this frenetic cognitivestyle.

A new study suggests that constant texters may be sacrificing accuracy for expediency. One of the convenient features of our handhelds – the program that figures out the word we want to use before we finish typing it – maybe be part of the problem. And, the new research suggests that frequent texting may even rewire the brains of young people.

When we think of addiction, most of us think of alcoholism or drug abuse. But the easy access, anonymity, and constant availability of the Internet, email, texting, chatting and twittering has led to a new form of compulsive and dependent behavior – techno-addicts.