High on Information

by phil on Tuesday Sep 9, 2003 9:47 AM
brain, science of, information overload

Slashdot | Addicted to Information?

"According to this New York Times article, two Harvard faculty members say that information causes a "dopamine squirt" in humans, a rush similar to that given by narcotics. Just as narcotics are addictive, information is as well. They've given the disorder of information addiction the name 'pseudo-ADD' because it tends to cause somewhat ADD-like symptoms."

(You have to pay for the NYtimes article.)

Buck says it has something to do with dopamine relases being correlated with learning novel information on your own. Hmm, could explain why I get this antsy feeling and semi-manic behavior when I enter random hives of mega-information on the Internet, like those list of fallacies below. Relates to my Information Monster post.