CNet has an article today about the difference between technology and intelligence. While interesting, I think it misses the point. While the vast knowledge available on the web and the constant connectivity many of us enjoy doesn’t necessarily make us smarter, I do subscribe to Steven Johnson’s theory that new media is making us better problem-solvers.

In any event, to steal from Donna Haraway and countless others, it doesn’t make sense to separate our biological brains from the tools we use to augment them. Intelligence is primarily practical, or at least the only evidence we have that anyone is intelligent is how they act on their mental abilities. We really are cyborgs… my del.icio.us links improve my memory, the calculator in OSX adds years to my math ability, and this blog is most certainly making me a better writer (which isn’t saying much). But I’ll let you be the judge of that.

Oh, by the way, Steven Johnson has a great post up about the narrative complexity of Lost. I’m going crazy waiting for Wednesday’s premiere.

CNET - Intelligence in the Internet age

(via Slashdot)