Part 5/13:
In the modern era, an unprecedented confluence of factors is undermining our capacity for critical thought. The proliferation of information via the internet has at first seemed empowering, but it has also led to "information overload". Our brains are not adapted to process this flood of data, which results in reliance on mental shortcuts. When faced with rapid streams of information, people tend to outsource thinking to search engines, calculators, and AI, training their minds to seek instant answers rather than engage in deep reasoning.