The writer discusses two recent studies, one from 2011 and one from 2008, looking at how Internet use affects a person’s mind. The 2011 study, by psychologist Betsy Sparrow, showed that if a person expects to be able to use Google to get information, then he or she is less likely to remember that information. Sparrow doesn’t see this result as necessarily negative. She hopes that the widespread use of Google might lead educators to focus on “imparting greater understanding of ideas” rather than on “rote learning,” which the writer says has been shown to be a bad way to teach students. (A link explains more about “rote learning.”) The 2008 study, by neuroscientist Gary Small, shows that using the Internet actually activates more of a person’s brain than reading a book. Like Sparrow, Small didn’t draw conclusions about whether Internet use is therefore better or worse for a person’s mind. It’s just different.