Josh Haning Mr. Rogers English Final 05/31/2011 Us Stupid Google Making Is As times change, so must our methods of dealing with them. The evolution of media has changed the way we absorb information from writing to radio to television and so on. During these trans-formative periods, skills are lost and skills are gained; but to label the internet as the catalyst for the degeneration of our intelligence goes a bit too far. In his article ”Is Google Making Us Stupid” Nicholas Carr argues that, in its current form, the internet is not conducive to the kind of deep thought required when reading a long article or novel. He feels that while the internet is extremely useful, it is designed to distract as opposed to focus the mind.
The book does concentrate mostly upon the American population, and an alien would get the impression that most of America likes to waste time away and rather than “…spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose (6)…” they would reciprocate the same action, except on the web. Throughout the book though the author does present the history and good, helpful aspects of the Internet, yet if the alien was smart enough they would realize that however helpful and amazing it can be, the contraption is more a detriment to productivity in most activities, and wouldn’t recommend it to his species as a tool needed for
The Inception of the internet and World Wide Web has changed how we research and gain knowledge. Before its introduction to society, libraries were utilized to reference scholarly works by previous intellectuals, but now they are used for computer access and social media. Google and Wikipedia have leaded the charge of information services and the fingertips of our culture. While a great resource in conjunction with other academic sources, they are not the best example of accurate and reliable material. Google is by far the worst example of an information supplier, in that, a search on Google can inundate the reader with an outlandish list of results.
In addition, the author also mentions that technology has created a distraction to students. He argues that it is used inappropriately and it has lost its primary function of being an educational tool. Here, he also emphasizes how the objectives in the classroom have been lost and how students instead of thinking critically are developing “multitasking abilities”. Moreover, he shows concern about how these social
So, partly as a result of forgetting that people online are still real, and partly because they don't know the conventions, well-meaning cybernauts, especially new ones, make all kinds of mistakes. The book Netiquette has a dual purpose: to help net newbies minimize their mistakes, and to help experienced cyberspace travelers help the newbies. The premise of the book is that most people would rather make friends than enemies, and that if you follow a few basic rules, you're less likely to make the kind of mistakes that will prevent you from making friends. The list of core rules below, and the explanations that follow, are excerpted from the book. They are offered here as a set of general guidelines for cyberspace behavior.
Not only does Carr believe this but states others, including friends and colleagues are also experiencing this affect. Carr’s goal is to push readers to think more critically about the negative impact internet usage can have on one’s ability to read and articulate articles. Although Carr provides some anecdotal evidence it is not sufficient evidence to prove that Google is making us stupid. In completing a critical analysis of Carr’s essay I will examine both the weaknesses and strengths of his argument and provide research and literature to support my belief that Google is not in fact making us stupid. Carr begins his essay by saying “I’ve had the uncomfortable feeling that over the past few years someone, or something has been tinkering with [his] brain”(91).
Carr does this to show just how big of an impact that the internet has not only on the literary society, but society as a whole. This essay is primarily a convincing essay, in that Carr is attempting to explain why Google is creating an attention-deficit society. He states that, “Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy.”(603) Nicholas then goes on to mention how his concentration starts to wonder after reading two to three pages. The intimate relationship between the reader and the text is lost. Carr feels as though he has to constantly find his way back to the original text because of distractions.
Is Google Making Us Stupid? 9/30/2012 ENG140 Introduction to Writing Kanesha Howard In Nicholas Carr’s story “Is Google Making Us Stupid” his main point is the question, is quick access to the internet making humans more impatient to read and want to skim through stuff more. This story is a very well informative story. Carr uses google as a metaphor for the wider internet. When Carr asks the question is google making us stupid, he may have set an alarm for many.
Nicholas Carr is the author of the article “Is Goggle making us stupid? Google proponents say that it’s not, they say that we don’t have to use our memory as much as before. Thanks to Google we have more time now to daydream or brainstorm. Or that we can see Google as an huge external hard disk for our brain. Carr thinks that this is bullshit.
Summary of “Is Google Making Us Stupid” by Nicholas Carr Nicholas Carr argues in, “Is Google Making us Stupid?” that the internet is changing the way we think. The internet looks to be slowly taking away the ability to focus very long, and is becoming the most widely used medium for information. Carr has the feeling that he no longer thinks like he used to. Reading a long book or article is no longer enjoyable to him. He attributes this feeling to the extensive use of the internet and computers, even though this usage of the internet has been to help him write.