The unread message

Five neuroscientists get into a raft. That might be the start of a mildly funny joke, but in this case it's the premise of an article by Matt Richtel in today's New York Times, the latest installment in the paper's series on "computers and the brain." Richtel accompanies the scientists as they float down a remote stretch of the San Juan River in Utah, beyond the reach of cell towers and wi-fi signals. The impetus for the trip was, Richtel reports, "to understand how heavy use of digital devic...