This is your brain. And, according to a study done by the Institute of Psychiatry on behalf of Hewlett-Packard, this is your brain on tech overload:
That's right, our Blackberry addictions and compulsive e-mail checking is lowering our IQs. From the press release:
- Far from making workers more productive, the findings of a new scientific experiment reveal that those who over juggle and who constantly disrupt meetings and important tasks to read and respond to messages, significantly reduce their IQ. In a series of tests carried out by Dr Glenn Wilson, Reader in Personality at the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London, an average worker s functioning IQ falls ten points when distracted by ringing telephones and incoming emails. This drop in IQ is more than double the four point drop seen following studies on the impact of smoking marijuana. Similarly, research on sleep deprivation suggests that an IQ drop of ten points is equal to missing an entire night of sleep. This IQ drop was even more significant in men who took part in the tests.
And just earlier today, when someone asked me how I do all this blogging and my day job, I thought I was kidding when I said, "Might as well face it, I'm addicted to blog" (apologies to Robert Palmer). But seriously, now that docs theoretically are getting techier, and the trend toward point-of-care learning continues, is it possible that the quality of patient care actually could decrease as IQs plummet as the doc uses technology in the office? That just hurts my brain. Better go check my e-mail...what was I talking about again?
