Neuroplasticity
Neuroplasticity is the concept that the brain can change. Contrary to now debunked views that the brain became ‘fixed’ in childhood, scientists now know that the brain is changeable––or plastic––and that neurons rewire when…
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The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was an era of intellectual rebirth in Europe that dramatically changed ideas about science and culture in the Western world. Taking place throughout the 18th century, Enlightenment thinking––also known as the “age of…
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Intellectual Technology
All technologies, Carr argues, were invented to amplify certain human abilities. In The Shallows, Carr coins the term intellectual technology to refer to the subset of technologies that enhance mental skills. Examples of intellectual…
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Working Memory
Working memory is the whole of what a human is conscious of at any given moment. Working memory is a kind of short-term memory, capable of holding an average of five informational elements at one…
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Transcendentalism
The transcendentalist movement originated in New England during the mid 18th century. Best represented by American authors Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American transcendentalists believed that true enlightenment and intelligence could be…
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