Effects of computer work on your cognitive structures I'm noticing that using the computer has effects on the way I think. Here are some examples -- I first named the computer task, and then the way it is reflected in my non-computer work and thinking: Windows >> I think about my daily schedule and places I have to go, and when I want to go from one to another (in my mind), the experience of switching between windows appears, parallel in my mind somehow. Like, "aha, now I must go to aerobics, click x on the window "Studying" and enlarge the window "Aerobics" ". Clicking on links >> I read a book, see underlined words, and I point my finger on the underlined word, wanting to click it, as if it were a link. Text editor effects >> In handwriting, after each . I begin with an upper case letter, even though the . signified an abbreviation. So I write, for example, "... this means, esp. In the context of ..." (Namely, my MS Word is set to upper case after a . .) Then I find myself wanting to go back to that word I wrongly upper-cased, and wish to click shift+f3 to change it. In handwriting! Playing Free cell >> This one probably has the most remarkable effect. You know how you place the cards one on another, right? When I think about my daily schedule, or try to organize things in my mind, or just think about things, I find myself placing these thoughts one on another, as if they were cards. Usually, this, in my mind, looks thus: A green background, here and there, there is a card, and between the cards, neatly placed as if they were cards, are mental images of studying, washing the dishes, exercising, people I must call ... The elements of the game work as elements of a metaphor, and they organize my thinking. These effects don't appear regularly, only sporadically; but I also dream these structures sometimes. Has anyone else made such or similar experiences?
