My brain's not a trusted container anymore

Writing in yesterday's Guardian Weekend magazine, Oliver Burkeman makes the point that keeping certain information like phone numbers in digital devices means we're no longer forced to remember them, so we don't remember them. 

I don't think that's necessarily a problem, as it shows that the numbers are actually now a redundant step in the process of getting hold of the person we want. And there are lots of other parts of the process that are done automatically for us anyway (which mobile phone cell they're in for example).

I also bumped into a bloke yesterday who illustrated this very nicely with his Blackberry. He said that with mobile google he can use the internet to augment his professional experience at the drop of a hat. He'd even got a cash figure to hand for how much more it put on his salary.