this post was submitted on 13 Feb 2025
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How many phone numbers do you know off of the top of your head?
In the 90s, my mother could rattle off 20 or more.
But they're all in her phone now. Are luddites going to start abandoning phones because they're losing the ability to remember phone numbers? No, of course not.
Either way, these fancy prediction engines have better critical thinking skills than most of the flesh and bone people I meet every day to begin with. The world might actually be smarter on average if they didn't open their mouths.
Memorization is not the same thing as critical thinking.
A well designed test will freely give you an equation sheet or even allow a cheat sheet.
When was the last time you did math without a calculator?
Calculators also don’t think critically.
Damn. I wonder where all the calculus identities and mathematical puzzle solving abilities in my head disappeared to then. Surely not into the void that is Wolfram Mathematica. Surely not...
A library of internalized axioms is necessary for efficient critical thinking. You can't just turn yourself into a Chinese Room of analysis.
Certain questions are phrased to force the reader to pluck out and categorize bits of information, to implement complex iterations of simple formulae, and to perform long-form calculations accurately without regard to the formulae themselves.
But for elementary skills, you're often challenging the individual to retain basic facts and figures. Internalizing your multiplication tables can serve as a heuristic that's quicker than doing simple sums in your head. Knowing the basic physics formulae - your F = ma, ρ=m/V, f= V/λ etc - can give you a broader understanding of the physical world.
If all you know how to do is search for answers to basic questions, you're slowing down your ability to process new information and recognize patterns or predictive signals in a timely manner.
I agree with all of this. My comment is meant to refute the implication that not needing to memorize phone numbers is somehow analogous to critical thinking. And yes, internalized axioms are necessary, but largely the core element is memorizing how these axioms are used, not necessarily their rote text.
You're right it's not the same thing as critical thinking, but it is a skill we've lost. How many skills have we lost throughout history due to machines and manufacturing?
This is the same tale over and over again - these people weren't using critical thinking to begin with if they were trusting a prediction engine with their tasks.
I think "deliberately suppressed" is different than lost.
Mostly just this one:
But even back when we only had land lines, I could barely remember my own phone number. I didn't think it's a good measure.
Something something.... Only phone number I remember is your mother's phone number (Implying that is for when I'm calling her to arrange a session of sexual intercourse, that she willingly and enthusiastically participates in).