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Technology And The Mind

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"You have not discovered a potion for remembering, but for reminding; you provide your students with the appearance of wisdom, not with its reality. Your invention will enable them to hear many things without being properly taught, and they will imagine that they have come to know much while for the most part they will know nothing."

Sounds a lot like a common criticism of today's teenagers, and their love affairs with social media and smart phones.

But, shock! Shock! That quotation was actually from.... Socrates, in which the ancient Greek philosopher rails against the evil technology of writing. Yes. Pen to paper, or rather stylus to wax tablet, writing. Good thing for us that Socrates's student Plato ignored his teacher's admonishments and wrote his master's musings.

Guests

Clive Thompson, his latest book is Smarter Than You Think: How Techonology Is Changing Our Minds.

This segment aired on October 3, 2013.

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