This week I implemented google reader into my internet webbrowsing behavior, and I haven’t yet decided if it’s a great way to pipe more information down my gullet, or if it’s a colossal waste of time.
On the plus side I now have a convenient way of keeping track of the blogs of people I know. I can’t go around checking a dozen or so blogs every day just so I can tell people at parties that I have in fact been keeping up with their blog. Now it all gets wrangled into one Firefox tab and I can get all my blog-reading responsibilities done in one go.
I also have a lot of webcomics that are now part of the RSS force feed. That means that any time I need a little break from the rigmarole of being busy at the computer, I can get a little laugh.
The problem comes with all the other informational opportunities. I’m subscribed to a couple of science news feeds that combined give me about 100 breaking science news stories. That’s a lot to keep up with.
On the one hand, I don’t want to fill my valuable free time with crammed little tidbits of information that I will never need. On the other hand, I don’t want to miss stories like:
National study finds table saw-related injuries have remained consistently high
I also found out today that we now know how the brain stores the meaning of nouns. Every time we learn a noun the brain classifies the word according to three predictable criteria that correspond to discrete sections of the brain. Those criteria are: 1.) how we manipulate it, 2.) how it involves shelter, and 3.) whether or not we can stick it in our mouths.
I kid you not.
