Rhetorical Analysis

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Nicholas Carr, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” - A Rhetorical Analysis Nicholas Carr starts this very well written article with a rather emotional scene from the 2001 blockbuster movie – A Space Odyssey. In the scene, the main character of the movie; an astronaut named Dave disconnects the memory circuit that controls the artificial brain of the supercomputer HAL which via a malfunction nearly sent Dave to his death. He then goes over to liken that scenario ironically to what he believes the internet is doing to his brain. His central claim simply put is that the internet is adversely affecting his thinking. He says that as a writer, he has ceased to go deep into the sea of words like a scuba diver but now rather skims through various texts on the internet propelled by hyperlinks just like a guy on a jet ski. He moves on further to generalize his problem, using as example his colleagues in the literary circle who have all identified the problem. This can also be viewed as a response to the counter argument that he’s the only one experiencing the problem. He however admits some limitations to his claim in the lack of definite scientific evidence in support of his claim even though he acknowledges a study as well as some scientific papers which suggest that the internet is actually changing the way we read and think. I believe that was a successful move by him to establish his credibility. He claims categorically that our brain gradually takes the qualities of the technology it uses. He proves this by employing the story of a writer who was going blind and decided to get a typewriter to salvage his career. There was a change in his style of writing once he started using the typewriter. I believe that was a move targeted at the readers’ emotions. Also, he states the effects of the mechanical clock on people as another example. He says the effects of the internet are
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