UN-unforgettable quickies

When I have a question, I look it up. I use the internet. Usually google. I can find the answer fast. I type a word into the search prompt and immediately I get an answer. It’s quick. And it’s dirty. It’s called a quickie. And it goes something like this:

What’s the largest land mammal?
0.27 seconds later: the African Bush Elephant.
Then what’s the smallest land mammal?
0.17 seconds: Kitli’s Hog-nosed bat.
Fastest land mammal?
0.22 seconds: Cheetah.
Longest lived?
0.14 seconds: Humans

Impressive, huh?

Not really.
Did I actually learn anything with all of these quick searches? Did I retain the information I learned? Did I make connections to other aspects of my life? Did I put the information in perspective? Did I paraphrase the information into my own words so that I could convey what I learned to someone else? Nope. After five minutes, I’ve already forgotten the name of the smallest mammal.

But I probably would have remembered if I had thought about the advantages of being small and why it makes sense that an animal that can fly would be smaller than an animal that walks. Or what the evolutionary relationship is between elephants and bats.

With all of the available information out there, and with it all so accessible, might we be engaging ourselves in too many quickies? We all know that quickies aren’t memorable. They’re trash. They’re immediate satisfaction. Bam. And they’re gone. They’re a waste of time.

Learning needs to be done right. Read. Then give yourself time to reflect.