Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload

Modern society is in a state of data deluge, and our brains are struggling to keep up with the demands of the digital age.

In 2011, we took in five times as much information every day as we did in 1986 – the equivalent of 175 newspapers. During our leisure time every day, each of us processes 34 gigabytes, or 100,000 words—and that’s not even counting our work.

The need to take charge of our attentional and memory systems has never been greater.

Award-wining author and neuroscientist Daniel Levitin visits the RSA to explain how our brains can organise this flood of information, and how we can harness that understanding to be more efficient, creative, happy and less stressed in an increasingly wired and distracted world.

Venue: Great Room Auditorium