Is google making us stupid?

Harmony Hawley

9-28-10

 

          In his recent work, Nicholas Carr suggest that the creation of the internet is making peoples brains change the way they read and write. One way Carr describes the change is by going into detail about his own personal challenges that he has had to face. He talks about how now that the internet is such an easy way to look up information, he tends to drift after only 2 or 3 pages online. Sense there is such an immense amount of information, it is now easy to skim read, and not understand the whole purpose of an article or essay. Because of all the pop up adds and many different choices of sources, Nicholas insists that Google is making the worlds foundation of data larger and more accessible everyday. Carr describes the modification of technology by stating, “ Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a jet ski.” This statement seems to say that since times have changed, the way to gain more knowledge has altered immensely. Many years ago, people had to spend days gathering research, but now it only takes minutes. Another example that suck in my mind in Carr’s essay was about a man named Nietzsche. Nietzsche was becoming blind so he bought a type writer. With this access of being able to write with his eyes closed, he thought of the typewriter as an instrument. The art of using an invention by replacing hand writing helped him not give up on writing. Due to this creation, Nietzsche’s friend noticed a change in his writing. He saw the Nietzsche’s writing was become tighter and more formal. This example is important as this article shows the start the start of how technology changed people’s writing. Carr is trying to prove more and more about how in only a decade, the way of scholastic living has evolved. On the other hand, others may protest that having all the information in the world on the Net is not effecting the world globally, Carr disagrees showing many examples of the other side of this debate, stating that it is changing all of how we think.

          My own view is that the internet has tweaked everyone’s brain who has used it. I always hear stories from my elders about how difficult school was as a kid and how much time they spent looking through books. Now that I have the option of being able to quickly research whatever I please by a simple click of a mouse makes me thankful. Although I have such an easy way to learn, the choice of Google searches makes me feel lazy about not going out of my way to look through a book. Instead, I do what all people do and I hop online. Thought I concede that the internet is changing how people look at the world, I still maintain that I wish I didn’t have so much exposure. For example, without the internet, my brain could be completely different than it is now. For this subject, my main objective is my own curiosity. I have discovered I am a bit like Nicholas Carr by being such worrywart about the whole situation.