those of many others. If I have a "new idea", I now quickly look to see whether somebody else has already thought of it, or something similar-and I then compare what I think with what others have thought. This certainly makes my own views clearer. Moreover, I can find out whether my reactions to an event are reasonable enough by reading about those of others on the Internet.

　　 These effects of the Internet have become even more striking since I've begun using a smartphone. I now regularly pull out my phone to check a fact, watch a video, read weibo. Such activities fill the spaces that used to be dead time (such as waiting for somebody to arrive for a lunch meeting).

　　But that's the upside (好处). The downside is that in those dead periods I often would let my thoughts flow and sometimes would have an unexpected insight or idea. Those opportunities are now fewer and farther between.

An Extension of the Human Brain A prosthetic nature ●The 　1　can help make up for our mental and emotional deficiencies as a wooden leg can compensate for a bodily deficiency.

●It 　2　in our daily events, extending our intelligence, comprehending our feelings, and expanding the range of social activities. Wonderful aspects: memory and judgment ●On the Internet, we could quickly and easily locate the details, and check facts, without 　3　them in mind. ●The Internet makes us smarter over 　4　kinds of things. It provides a dozen definitions of a key term for us to find the 　5　of the matter.

●The Internet enables us to exchange ideas with many others to　6　our claims, and to 　7　our actions. The 　8　sides of smartphones ●Smartphones make it easier and more 　9　to check reality, watch video clips, read weibo. ●Smartphones 　10　the possibility for new and insightful minds, and steal away our dead time.