"Is Google Making Us Stupid?" is a fascinating article. After reading the title, I thought the question seemed absurd; however, as I dug in deeper to Nicholas Carr's alluring take on artificial intelligence of the human brain, I am amazed at my absolute agreement with all of his arguments.
It is almost impossible to tell the difference between writing a paper by hand and typing it up; though Carr places a valid argument in saying that the more our fingers stroke the keys, the more the mind wanders to other things. I have personally noticed this as my mind has already wandered off in a million directions while writing my response to his article. I have also noticed that most of my research and learning consists of hyperlinks and Google searches. In a world that is striving for fast information, we don't have time to look for what we need in a book. It's impossible to avoid the obvious truth, that Carr is completely right. The way we comprehend information is by skimming an article instead of reading a book on the subject. The argument is all together correct, and that fact alone scares me.
The amount of research that was conducted for this article was also astonishing. Every argument that was made was backed up by a number of facts and resources, including respected thinkers and professors dating back to Socrates. That alone made the article more believable because without research, most of the audience would be hard to convince.
Another great point Carr mentioned was texting. Texting has become a world-wide phenomenon and another way to receive everything you want immediately. Instead of calling your friend to go get coffee, you can text them and head straight there because everyone is constantly on their phone. I am definitely guilty when it comes to texting. I can say that I do not use Facebook as much as some of my peers and I watch less television, but I will openly admit I always have my phone with me. I think it has lowered my patience level because I am always waiting for something to come right away and that has quite a bit to do with technology.
Overall, I am scared to say that I agree with Carr completely. The entire world is turning to artificial intelligence and crushing the knowledge they already have inside their brains. As Google becomes smarter, we are losing brain cells and reading this article makes me want to cling tight to all of the real knowledge I have left.
Glad to see your blog up and running, Sarah. Interesting points about the effect of technology. I, too, always have my phone with me: it's hard to imagine a decade ago I'd go on vacation with no way-- gasp!-- to stay in touch with people.
ReplyDeleteAs you enter the final week of summer freedom, you might want to look ahead a bit to the first weeks of AP Composition. During the first few days of class, you will take an oral quiz on your vocabulary words. You will also turn in your summer work so I can give you credit for your off-season efforts. Finally, the first major assignment you will write will be based on the non-fiction book you read over the summer.
So, take some time to relax, enjoy some moments with friends, and soak in the last few minutes of summer. After that, the real fun begins!
See you soon.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree with your statements in this response. I, as well as you, had a difficult time not wandering while typing my response. I think because it is such a natural motion (for me at least) our mind gets comfortable with it, and then we get easily distracted.
I love your last paragraph when you state you want to "Cling tight to all of the real knowledge left". I feel like the internet almost wants to trick us. They provide us with all of our answers to make us seem "smarter", but unlike the olden days we don't have to work hard/learn to find them...that's where the brain cells go missing.
See you soon in AP composition. Enjoy your last week of summer!
Eva
p.s. Mr.Kunkle, I look at the old cell phones we have put away and can't imagine having a big, bulky one like them or even not having one at all. It'd seem impossible to try and communicate with somebody. See you soon!
Good analysis! I agree that there is no way to deny the change in our study habits these days. I, like almost anyone, often find concentrating on the computer a difficult task; however, I feel a little different about technology as whole than what Carr portrays in this essay. For example I think the age of the cell phone is wonderful thing! Information is always readily assessable with the touch of a button. For example if you want to see pictures from your friend’s vacation all you have to do is quickly check facebook. If you want to know the scores of the football games, just go on your phone and get the real time play by plays. Parents can easily communicate with their children when they are away from with a quick text. The main problem with today’s society is learning when to use all of these awesome recourses. For example, when you are typing a paper for school you need to shut that facebook page and navigate away from irrelevant information. Or if you are at an event or talking to people your cell phone needs to be away. Respect and discipline are the only things I can see which turn our new technologies into a problem.
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