BBC Knowledge - February 2017

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A very happy new year to you. The beginning of each year invites us to re-evaluate our thoughts on the everyday, and the pulling together of this issue forced me to think about how all-pervasive technology is - even in the lives of people who bemoan the loss of a simpler past. Why, then, do we sometimes baulk at the idea of how much we depend on technology? For parents, it may be worry about how many hours a child may spend absorbed in something with a screen. For young people, it might well be all about FOMO - the fear of missing out.There are, of course, the ardent advocates of technology - Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, among them - but, for us, perhaps it is best to bring it down to daily living. It is about giving technology its place in our lives, just like eating the right amount of food, drinking enough water, even getting enough sunlight. Is Technology Changing Our Brains?, our cover story this issue, takes a cold, hard look at how technology is rewiring our minds, for better or for worse. In conjunction with this story, we’re proud to present the ἀrst module of the BBC Knowledge Panel of Principals, educators from across India weighing in on the subject, as well as responses from our BBC Knowledge Community on social media. There’s more on the new and the happening in our Discoveries & Innovations pages, augmented by a re-imagined On The Shelves section that explores new and classic technology, gadgets, games and literature. Still, perhaps the beauty of our rapidly-evolving life on earth is that some things are constant. How baby animals are adorbs. How we’ll always love the genius of R. K. Narayan and his Malgudi world. How there’s always time for a good tale, especially when the storyteller is Sudha Murty. How so many of us love how dogs could now be dogtors. I leave you with a thought from Jerry Baumgartner that will soothe both the advocates and naysayers of technology:“Technology gives the quietest student a voice.”