Why technology makes me forget what I’ve learned

Earlier this week I encountered some slippery roads which caused the anti-lock brakes on my car to kick in during a sudden stop. When I first felt the car sliding my temptation was to pump the brakes because that's what I was taught to do when I learned how to drive. But before I even had a chance to pump the brakes I heard the familiar grinding sound of the anti-lock brakes and realized that the car's computer had beat me to the punch.

This got me to thinking about how some technologies force us to unlearn something. Here's another example. I used to be really good at spelling until I started sending text messages, which are limited to 160 characters each, to my friends and family. Now I don't bat an eye sending such messages as b hm l8 2nite my mtg ran lng.

Some of my unlearning has even come back to haunt me. Like the time I had to dial an 800 number three times from my home phone line because the first two times I forgot to start the dialing with the number 1. I can thank cell phones for that one since they only require the area code and phone number, not the leading 1.

What things have you had to unlearn due to new technology? Leave a comment below and let me know.