A report a few years ago estimated that close to 40% of the U.S. gross domestic product comes from

knowledge and technology intensive industries, which is say, our economy runs on brain power.

But lately, we keep hearing that rather than worrying our pretty little heads over complex problems,

we can outsource all that hard thinking to AI, take a long lunch,

return to our computers to find a perfect solution.

Okay, but what if we've let our brains get so soft that we can't even

understand what it is the cloud is suggesting? From KERA in Dallas, this is think. I'm Chris Boyd.

If it seems unlikely that all this smart technology is actually making us mentally duller,

consider this. There was a time just a few decades ago when

almost nobody who didn't have to do manual labor for work thought it was important to keep

their bodies strong with exercise. My guest knows all about how much technology can do for us.

He is professor of computer science at Georgetown University. So when a guy like Cal Newport

suggests that every individual person needs to make an effort to keep our brains in top working order,

it seems like a very good idea to pay attention.

Cal Newport's essay for the New York Times is titled,

There's a Good Reason You Can't Concentrate.

Cal, welcome back to think.

Well, thanks for having me on.

It is pretty stunning to think how recently we began to understand the importance of exercise

for good health. What did Dwight Eisenhower, of all people, have to do with that?

Well, when it comes to our health, we had the good fortune of Dwight Eisenhower having a heart attack

while still in office as

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