With their ability to put information right at our fingertips, searchable electronic stores of information form an arguably viable substitute for memory. But what worries some scientists is how willingly and easily we outsource the function of memorizing to the Internet.

Apprentice doctors, for example, often rely on an electronic reference tool called UpToDate. They enter patients’ symptoms in the program and it generates a list of possible diagnoses and recommends courses of treatment. But does this kind of “decision support” impede the novice doctors’ formation of a thorough knowledge base?

On her blog “The Brilliant Report,” Annie Murphy Paul explores recent research on the effects of procuring knowledge from a device instead of our own minds. Neuroscientists often play tug-of-war over this question of whether technology undermines our intelligence, but at least some common ground has been established in the debate: We have two forms of memory, electronic and organic, and it’s important to distinguish between the two. Both have their roles to play. E-memory is good for conducting targeted searches, while o-memory is necessary for true expertise – establishing long-term knowledge that allows us to think deeply and critically on a topic. “With our computers, we can search, store, and check,” writes Paul. “With our minds, we can browse, elaborate and reflect.” The former is e-memory in action; the latter, o-memory.

Young doctors need to know when to employ which type of memory. According to a survey, 89 percent of doctors use UpToDate as their primary resource for answering clinical questions. Some doctors are concerned that the efficiency with which UpToDate supplies diagnostic and treatment information will tempt medical residents away from the medical journals traditionally used to shore up their knowledge bases. This represents a kind of “incidental” learning, quite different from the just-enough, just-in-time learning made possible by electronic performance support tools like UpToDate.

Electronic performance support tools are used by employees in diverse industries all over the world, and will continue to grow in sophistication. But for those in highly technical fields like medicine, just-in-time learning is only one strategy among many for building their “organic” knowledge stores.