网络在改变我们的大脑？
[b]Is the Internet changing our brains?[/b]今日导读：[font=楷体_GB2312]我们的大脑是否正在因为网络时代的到来发生着某种改变？文中作者用了一个有趣的比喻来形容这种感受：“过去阅读时我如同带着呼吸器潜伏在文字的海洋中。现在就如同骑在一辆水上摩托艇上沿着水面飞速前行。”“快餐文化”当前，你是否也有同感？[/font]
难度指导：★★★★★
文章来源：[url=http://www.xmwebi.com.cn]www.xmwebi.com.cn[/url]
We hear so much these days about the [b][u]plasticity[/u][/b] of the human brain - its ability to adapt to changing demands and circumstances. If our neural architecture is forever being redrawn to meet our daily challenges then it makes you wonder about the [b][u]inordinate[/u][/b] amounts of time many of us now spend surfing the internet, flicking [b][u]feverishly[/u][/b] from one link to the next.
"I’m not thinking the way I used to think. I can feel it most strongly when I’m reading. Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy. My mind would get caught up in the narrative or the turns of the argument, and I’d spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That’s rarely the case anymore. Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get [b][u]fidgety[/u][/b], [b][u]lose the thread[/u][/b], begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I’m always dragging my [b][u]wayward[/u][/b] brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle."
This description certainly [b][u]strikes a chord[/u][/b] with me. When I go on holiday and subject myself to a self-imposed internet [b][u]ban[/u][/b], I'm sure it takes me several days to overcome the information [b][u]withdrawal[/u][/b] that [b][u]ensues[/u][/b]. We're growing dependent on a constant stream of information:
"...the Net seems to be...chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of [b][u]particles[/u][/b]. Once I was a [b][u]scuba[/u][/b] diver in the sea of words. Now I [b][u]zip[/u][/b] along the surface like a guy on a [b][u]Jet Ski[/u][/b]."
However, it's easy to forget that humans have always adapted to changing technologies. There's nothing to suggest that the impact of the internet or computer use on our brains and behavior will be on a different scale to previous new technologies.
[b]plasticity[/b][b] [/b]n. 可塑性
[b]inordinate [/b]adj. 超过适当限度的，过度的
[b]feverishly [/b]adv. 兴奋地
[b]fidgety [/b]adj. 不安的，烦躁的
[b]lose the thread [/b] (因无法集中思想)不能理解
[b]wayward [/b] adj. 固执的，反复不定的
[b]strike a chord [/b] 引起共鸣
[b]ban [/b]n. 禁止
[b]withdrawal [/b]n. 撤退
[b]ensue [/b] v. 接踵发生
[b]particle [/b]n. [物理]粒子；微粒
[b]scuba[/b][b] [/b][b] [/b] n. 水中呼吸器[b] [/b]
[b]zip [/b]v. 飞快移动
[b]Jet Ski [/b]水上摩托车
[b][/b]
这些天我们听到了很多关于人类头脑的适应性——这是一种对变化的需求和环境的适应能力。如果我们的神经结构为了迎接每日的挑战而永远保持不断地重新组合，你就会惊叹于我们中的很多人现在正花费无节制的大量时间用于网上冲浪，兴奋地点击一个链接到另一个。
“我的思考不再是过去的那样。当我阅读的时候，这种感觉尤其强烈。沉醉于一本书或者一篇长篇文章曾经对我很容易。我的思想会被文中的描述或者是观点的转换而吸引，我会花数小时游弋于大段大段的散文之中。但是现在很少会这样。现在我的注意力在两三页后就开始游离。我感到焦躁不安，思想无法集中而无法理解内容，开始寻找其他事情去做。我感到我像是在把我不定的思绪拖拽到文章中。过去自然而然的深度阅读如今成了一种挣扎。”
这个描述一定是引起了我的共鸣。当我度假时，我让自己强制戒网，但我相信这需要几天的时间才能克服接下来所要面对的信息空缺的状况。我们都变得越来越依赖于持续不断的信息流。
“……网络似乎……正在摧毁我集中思想和冥想的能力。我的大脑正在以网络发布信息的发式接受着信息：以快速移动的粒子流的那种方式。过去我如同带着呼吸器潜伏在文字的海洋中。现在就如同骑在一辆水上摩托艇上沿着水面飞速前行。”
但是，人们总是在让自己去适应不断变化着的新技术，这点很容易忽视。没有什么表明，互联网和计算机的使用对人们思维和行为产生的巨大影响较之以往新技术有多大不同。
页:
[1]
