Human Bandwidth: How much information are humans able to process?

I think as we go about our daily lives, one thing is evident: we are hit with a variety of new information every day. Some of this information is relevant, some of it is helpful, but some of it is just unnecessary to our lives. Sometimes I feel as though I fill up my day with unimportant, redundant BS just to remind myself that none of this is as serious as it seems… situations pass; people move on.

As a college student I feel as though I have learned a variety of helpful information in my first year. However, I can’t help but compare my workload to that of someone at university, specifically those I know who are at their wit’s end. Memorizing hundreds of pages of information seems impossible and impractical to me. I mean, how long are you going to remember this information for? Is it going to be retained? Or are you cramming it all into your poor brain the night before an exam and spewing it out when its just about to be full to the brim?

Many of us are simply information-hungry. Its all there… its all easily accessible, and never in history as it been easier to get the information. But how much are we able to retain?

As long as people have a hunger for the information, and can process it, I think there is no stopping the amount of information we can learn. If we have an invested interest in it and our mind perceives it in a reasonable way, go nuts. But personally, there are some days I just want to go to sleep and turn my brain off – give it a rest. I suppose it also depends on the person. Some people go about their day and could not care less about the world around them. Others take things more seriously. It really depends on your individual outlook.

Either way, I think people should take advantage of the resources we have available to us, and to appreciate them. When earlier generations were in school, information directly relating to what they were looking for was much more of a challenge to find. Yet, here we are with the wonders of Google, Yahoo, blogs, and any kind of information we need at our fingertips.

Recently, I’ve found the best way to give my brain a much-needed rest is Yoga. Read more about yoga here: http://www.americanyogaassociation.org/general.html