Intellectual Decay

      During the nine month school year, we spend most of our days exercising our brains in class. Once our beloved summer vacation arrives, we start to forget substantial amounts of academic information that we would have normally been able to retain during the winter, spring, and fall. This idea of losing information during time away from a required intellectual environment can be discovered in Chapter 2 ("The Vital Paths") of The Shallows: What The Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr. Carr states that "the possibility of of intellectual decay is inherent in the malleability of our brains" (35). Because our brains are so easily influenced and subject to change, our minds can be conditioned to making positive or negative decisions. When we exercise our brains, it inevitably builds on our mental skills, but spending hours in front of a trivial television program or internet video can harm us more than entertain. I do realize that being entertained isn't all bad, but like most things, it requires some moderation. When we leave our minds unattended, they begin to decay. So, my main point is that the longer we spend time away from distractions such as mindless technology or negatively influenced people, the more our minds can grow. Nevertheless, It's up to us to determine how much time that we are willing to give. What other roads can lead to intellectual decay? How does this idea apply to you?