My Tiny Brain

I found a hand written note on a Post-It in my wallet, it was written to me.  The message was cryptic and incomplete, as if the note-leaver assumed I was a mind reader who'd understand its obscure context.  I stared at it... I tried my best to interpret... and then I recognized the writing.  It was mine.

I'm a husband, a father, and a professional in a technical field.  Life is busy and I think the neurons responsible for absorbing new clutter in my brain filled up years ago.  The only way to fit new stuff in is to push some old stuff out but those pesky neurons are sentimental, it seems, and they'd rather hold onto the dusty memories of bad childhood dreams than make room for "pick up milk after work".

To extend my memoronic capabilities I allow certain things to spill out onto little pieces of paper, I write notes to my future self.  While this is a handy and often indispensible tool, it suffers the same drawbacks my brain cells do; gradual accumulation of clutter, and lack of recall.  You see, writing a note to my future self does not guarantee that the future me will read it.  That "me" has to remember there's a note to read!

Here enters technology to save the day.  I recently acquired (quite delinquently) a mobile device that hosts an electronic memory bank for lists and notes.  It is a digital repository for thoughts akin to a physical extension of my neural network.  It's like my brain just knocked out a wall and added a new room that I carry around in my pocket.  With a cheerful little song, and a bit of a wiggle, it even reminds me when I need to remember something (now if I can just remember to take it with me when I leave the house).

Note to self... sell 3M (Post-It) stock and buy Apple shares. 

Truthfully, I've been using computers to augment my brain for quite some time, but this latest addition to my computing arsenal is tiny, really slick, and has me reflecting on cultural trends.  Since the dawn of the Industrial Age we've been offloading tasks to machines, it seems we've come far enough to entrust our very memories to digital devices.  Do we really need our lazy brains to remember anything anymore?

In my experience, men are more likely to acclimate easily to handheld devices that compliment cognition and tote effortlessly in one's pocket.  I believe this is for two reasons; out of sheer necessity (because men have very poor memory), and because men are already quite accustomed to thinking with what is in their pants.