memory

Research studies by Betsy Sparrow of Columbia University "support a growing belief that people are using the Internet as a personal memory bank: the so-called Google effect." Yes, the awareness that we can look things up easily later makes our memories worse. But when it comes to retrieving that online data, she notes, "We're remarkably efficient."

For adults, the early part of learning a new language is all drudgery and repetition. But a new company called Memrise looks like the next stage of evolution in language e-learning. And it might just roll right over premium products like Rosetta Stone.

Keywords, user IDs, account numbers, passwords that must contain both letters and numbers: the list of important login information we are required to remember is overwhelming indeed. Remembering increasingly complex and often-changing password combinations can be extremely difficult -- and for some...