As a society, weather we consciously realize it or not, we use progress not as a way to work less but to think less. Example: the expiry dates on milk and stuff. Instead of letting people decide for themselves when the product goes bad we tell them the exact date that it goes bad. More quick examples? Here: Calculators, Fancy medical instruments, air guitars, spell checkers etc. All of these deaden our sense of observation and awareness and dull our minds.

So we have a choice: Do we make an effort to train our brains our do we let our technology do all the thinking for us? Well, why go through all the effort to train our brains when we don't have to?