EDITORIAL THURSDAY 18.09.08.
It really is quite amazing the things that are discovered in scientific studies. For example, a study from Swinburne university of technology has shown that good humour in the workplace leads to greater job satisfaction and better productivity. Who would have thought it? I mean aren’t we all supposed to be slaving away so feverishly that we just don’t have the time to smile? If you’re wasting time cracking jokes, you can’t be focusing on the job at hand now can you. Of course commonsense should tell us that such an oppressive regime in the workplace is counter productive, but apparently common sense isn’t so common, and some people need a scientific study to convince them of the obvious.
Speaking of common sense, did you know that scientists can actually identify the part of the brain which houses our faculty for common sense? It can be observed on a brain scan lighting up when we use our common sense. Scientists in the United States have done exactly that and discovered something quite alarming. They were studying the effect on the brain of using gadgets like mobile phones, BlackBerries, even GPS navigation systems, and what they found was scary. Whenever you send or receive txt messages, chat on the phone, or interact with your in car navigator, the lights go out. That’s right, the common sense centre of your brain switches off.
Doctors claim that this explains why it is so dangerous to text and drive for example, and why there has been an increase in injuries and deaths associated with gadget use. It’s not just because you take you eye off the road for a moment, but your common sense actually switches off and you literally forget to keep an eye on what you are really doing, namely staying alive. Again this should be a matter of common sense, but if the lights are out then it’s a fair bet that nobody’s home.
Now this might be a bit of a stretch, but with the disaster now unfolding in global financial markets, is it silly to observe that so many of these financial geniuses have spent the last decade permanently wired up to their BlackBerries and other similar devices? I mean, this whole discovery goes a long way towards explaining how they could drive the entire world economy over a cliff and not realise anything was wrong until it was way too late.
Sorry, I have to go now, I’m getting a text.
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3 comments:
You have a brilliant talent for making clear, funny and logical observations. Surely one of our mainstream publications could dice Steve Price or Mike Carlton and fly you instead. Shame UE doesn't dice them both and put you in one of its prime shifts..keep up the intelligent humour!!
Do computers pose a problem as well ie the electrical fields generated from computers are already said to cause problems?
I suspect computers may also have this effect. That explains the phenomonon of buying stuff you don't need on Ebay. BTW, no posts until next week as I am on holidays!
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