The Information and Communications Technology
(ICT) has unannounced seemingly taken over from the human brain. If this
observation holds water, one would begin to wonder how an artificial possession
can override the natural one knowing full well that the latter unarguably
begets the former.
Considering the ongoing trend whereby, for
instance, an average student would in most cases prefer to make use of a
calculator rather than his or her brain, you might subtly concur that the human
brain is gradually going into extinction.
Of course, one may not hesitate to
insinuate that the human brain is not anymore needed, since ICT has proven
beyond doubts to be the ‘messiah’ when it calls for information sourcing or
data storage.
Undoubtedly,
the impact of ICT on man’s daily activity cannot be overemphasized, especially
when considered that it can carry out a certain work expressly – and at anytime
– without causing much stress for any of the beneficiaries of the work done.
Unlike the brain that might not be
very active at a given time. For example, you cannot wake someone from sleep
and therein ask him or her to help you with a certain information or task. The
brain needs to be relaxed before carrying out such required task. On the
contrary, an ICT equipment/system is invariably ready to perform its work
unless when faulty.
Little wonder, in various Mathematics classes,
you would hardly see pupils or students – as the case may be – making use of
their brain. They are now quick in using their calculators, or handsets, when
the former is not at their reach, even in cases concerning elementary
arithmetic let alone basic algebra or geometry.
Those days, candidates who enrolled
for external examinations like the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination
(UTME) could not attempt to enter the exam hall with any ICT gadget including
calculator, cell phone, or what have you. But nowadays, the exam board (JAMB)
itself provides the candidates with such equipment, particularly calculator.
This
policy, which doesn’t augur well for our educational system, implies that even
the teachers as well as examiners encourage the students to overlook the use of
their brains. This is why most students often laugh at others who try to deploy
their brain while in classroom or at their respective homes.
Parents
and guardians too would stop at nothing to ensure that their wards do not
‘stress’ their brain by providing them with any requested learning material.
ICT has apparently dominated the modern generation otherwise known as the
‘digital age’ and perhaps replaced the human brain.
Lest we celebrate that we need not bother our
brain any longer in issues pertaining to learning, routine office works, or as
might be the case, let’s not forget in haste that the human brain remains the
only endowment that does the thinking – which ICT can never do – not even for a
second.
The gospel truth is that the brain can
engage in an extensive and rigorous thinking towards proffering the required
remedy to any given plight, or providing sound and reliable ideas that can
stand the test of time.
The human brain can store as much
information as possible. Your brain might have only a few gigabytes of storage
space similar to the one in your iPod, USB flash drive, or computer hard-disk.
But neurons, also known as nerve
cells, combine so that each one helps with many memories at a time thereby
exponentially increasing the brain’s memory storage capacity to something
closer to around 2.5petabytes – equivalent to a million gigabytes.
Similarly, research indicates that the
human brain is thirty times faster than the best supercomputer in existence.
Moreover, knowledge acquired wholly with the use of the brain gives self-confidence,
and such is always reliable irrespective of the circumstance.
It’s
pertinent to acknowledge that ICT itself was invented solely by the brain, and
any existing IT gadget such as computer is programmed mainly by the effort of
same human brain. Inter alia, such IT equipment as any computerized gadget
provides information on a daily basis based on what it receives from the human
brain; it is called ‘garbage in, garbage out’ in the computer world.
Above all, whenever an IT
gadget/network gets infested or ceased to perform, it is the human brain that
would fix the anomaly. Needless to say that the day-to-day thrive of ICT cannot
be adequately effective and efficient without involving the brain.
The truth is, ICT which remains manmade, can
fade at anytime whereas human brain will never. This is the reason we must not
make attempt to relegate our brains to the background; else, we shall all live
to regret it. There’s, therefore, a compelling need to revisit the existing
policies towards mandating the learners to invariably make use of their brains.
Believe it or not, ICT can never be
compared to the ‘almighty’ human brain, because the latter is arguably yet to
have a rival. Survey shows that no computer can compete with the brain of the
dullest human on Earth. Hence, we are advised to believe so much in ourselves
by finding reasonable time to work on our brains, proudly use it always, as
well as endeavour to handle it with absolute care.
Though the functions of ICT cannot be
overemphasized as earlier stated, the role of the human brain remains
limitless. The former was invented to serve as an aid to mankind’s daily
activity, and not to replace the latter. Think about it!
Comrade FDN Nwaozor
Chief Consultant, Docfred Technologies
___________________________
+2348028608056
Twitter:
@mediambassador
