Information Overload

[M_Rommel]

I was thinking this morning about the fact that I've been able to imbibe much more information than I used to be able to, thanks to technological advancements like the internet and torrents. However, the downside appears to be that I'm unable to digest the high levels of info that pass by me on a daily basis.

First off, I was wondering if other people have had similar experiences to the following: say you read up on a couple articles that interest you via RSS feeds. Later that evening, or the next day, a story comes on the news that reminds you of what you read, but you cannot recall any real, pertinent information.

This sort of thing is quite frustrating, because for people who actually take the time to read and better themselves intellectually, not being able to recall information is analogous to spinning your wheels in the mud--doesn't get you anywhere.

The only real ideas that I could think of as a solution to this were the following. First, the information inlets could be restricted in such a way that it allows the brain to retain a reasonably high amount of information. E.g. instead of reading two books a day, read one book a day. Secondly, reviewing the material that you've read multiple times would be beneficial to retention.

Maybe this is appealing to a wider audience (is it? I ask y'all this), due to the prevalence of such a problem...I'm not really sure, but improving one's ability to remember things would definitely be beneficial for the long run, for everyone.

Any thoughts on this subject?

[davey_crockshit]

do you at some level consider the information RELEVANT to your situation? with me, as most of it isn't, reading stuff tends to become more like entertainment than research. not much sticks.

what's that old cliche? we retain ten percent of what we hear, twenty percent of what we see but ninety percent of what we do. the numbers are way off, but the order is probably about right. if you use it, you have a better chance of retaining it. hence homework.

[M_Rommel]

That's a really good point. Much of the things that I'm interested in reading about (this is probably analogous to many other people) is not stuff that I'm able to apply easily in everyday life. For instance, I'm reading right now this book called Campaigning for Hearts and Minds, about emotional appeals in political campaigns. It's fucking cool stuff, but pretty inapplicable to everyday life.

If I really had a chance to go out immediately and apply (i.e. do) what I read about, it'd stick a hell of a lot better than it currently does.

One idea that I had was to write down stuff that I didn't want to forget in a journal. That way, when I'm fucking around on the internet and I see something on Digg that I think is neat, I can have a much better chance of retaining that information.

Anyway, thanks for the response. I'm going to try and APPLY what I learn about from now on, when possible.

[crazy white guy]

I have a really hard time remembering the titles and authors of articles I read. I can usually describe exactly what, where and how things happen, but there are details like names and statistics that don't keep.

[DJ Poppinfresh]

I would say it differs from person to person. Some people seem to have "better" memory than others, but they just have a good mind for remembering exact details, but maybe not meanings or even understanding what they know. For example - On person might know the exact velocity of light, but they may claim not to know what the fastest thing in the universe is....