Pre-Google

I'm pretty much figuring out my new computer but have found, to my dismay, that I cannot seem to spellcheck my emails.

Now everyone will know how ignorant I am.

Which makes me think of how dependent all of us have become on cyber-knowledge. We used to read books, go to libraries, take notes.

And before that, our ancestors memorized entire histories and legends. They could not only recite them but also cite those passages or stories pertinent to particular situations. They not only knew the words, they understood their significance.

Now we don't even remember phone numbers. Our phones remember them for us.

This may not be progress. It may even be dangerous. Significant portions of our brains may atrophy. And then what?

We have a term for early, largely pre-literate history: BCE, Before the Common Era. An appropriate term for my early years might be Pre-Google.

And now? Perhaps Post-Cognitive.

As as a public service – a sort of cautionary tale-- I will post this message on my blog . . . after I run it through spellcheck.