• Hero Banner
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Digital Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Pharmacy
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Buying or Selling a Practice
Hospital Design
Leadership & Personal Growth
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Technology
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Live Conferences
Conference News
Conference Proceedings
Resources
CBD in Pets
Contests
Veterinary Heroes
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Idiot-proof: Is technology making us ... less smart?

February 1, 2010
Michael A. McLaughlin, DVM

I realized that humanity probably really is getting dumber and the reason may be the very technology that promised to improve our lives.

I diocracy is one of my wife's favorite comedies. An average guy is cryogenically frozen and defrosted in a future America where an over-reliance on technology and blind trust in pop culture have made everyone so dumb that he has become the smartest person in the world.

A click away: Are we too reliant on technology? (PHOTO: LARS SCHNEIDER/GETTY IMAGES)

I thought seeing an increase in the number of stupid people in the world was a natural function of aging, until I saw a Dallas Morning News article ("Your brain on GPS," Dec. 6, 2009) warning that extensive use of a GPS could decrease a person's ability to make "mental maps" and cause parts of the brain to atrophy.

Advertisement

It was then I realized that humanity probably really is getting dumber and the reason may be the very technology that promised to improve our lives.

Since it is only briefly taught in school, it won't be long before people can neither read nor write in cursive. Who needs handwriting when there are word processors? Why bother learning how to spell when there is "spell check"? Why should anyone attempt basic math while there are calculators in the world? Cashiers at fast-food restaurants couldn't function if there weren't small pictures of the food items on the register keys and the change weren't calculated automatically. Why strain your brain trying to figure out how to find a new location when GPS and Mapquest exist? Why develop social skills in the world of Twitter and Facebook? Why should you memorize a huge 10-digit phone number when you have speed dial?

Veterinary medicine is not immune to this trend. No need to interpret the chemistry results when the blood machine will do it for you. Why learn to read X-rays when you can e-mail them to a specialist? Don't bother trying to understand the ECG when you can phone it to a cardiologist for diagnosis. No reason to develop a good abdominal palpation technique when the sonogram machine is there. Remember the stethoscope? In ancient times, before the ECG, proto-vets used it to evaluate the heart.

Don't get me wrong. I do like my doctor toys. But brain tissue that is exercised tends to enlarge, while disuse produces measurable shrinkage. The less we have to do for ourselves, the more incompetent we become as a species. If the electricity went out tomorrow, could you still practice medicine? One or two well-placed electromagnetic pulses and the entire country becomes the town of Bedrock! Then it's Idiocracy II: Revenge of the Mayans!

Dr. McLaughlin is a small-animal practitioner in Plano, Texas.

Related Content:

Law & EthicsTechnology
AI-enhanced MyLabX90VET ultrasound system unveiled
AI-enhanced MyLabX90VET ultrasound system unveiled
PetHub launches AI tools for pet owners
PetHub launches AI tools for pet owners
Using in-clinic cortisol testing to detect endocrine diseases in dogs
Using in-clinic cortisol testing to detect endocrine diseases in dogs

Advertisement

Latest News

Pride, representation, and inclusion in vet med

Partnership to promote diversity in veterinary medicine and more

Morris Animal Foundation accepting canine cancer research proposals

AI-enhanced MyLabX90VET ultrasound system unveiled

View More Latest News
Advertisement