The article Is Google Making Us Stupid? by Nicholas Carr is an interesting article for several reasons because it shows how over time we have become not as capable as we could be. First, the article illustrates the background of how the Internet came to be. Carr explains why we cannot focus on long paragraphs or magazines because we have so much going on and that since writings are usually in shorter paragraphs, it is hard for the human brain to focus on longer paragraphs. (I agree Mrs. Comp, this article is ironic because it is nine pages long). This article goes deep into how Google and other mechanical perfections affect our lives whether it be good or bad.
As I read this article, the author points out that his mind isn't going--so far as he can tell--but it's changing which led me to think that our brain is always learning and changing. For example, he said, the brain has the ability to reprogram itself on the fly, altering the way it functions." The main idea I get out of the article is that we spend so much time searching the Internet and research that it could take hours our days to get what is now accessible to anyone in just seconds. This article also shows that we no longer can take a while and leisurely read content but now it has to be short and to the point be for we loose interest and focus. It's kind of sad how aspects that are popular today have to be fast and not take too much of our time. Nicholas Carr's quote saying that he once was a scuba diver in the sea of words, but now he sips along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski, demonstrates this aspect. The author was being a little dramatic when he said, "I can't read War and Peace anymore; I've lost the ability to do that. Even a blog post of more than three or four paragraphs is too much to absorb. I skim it." Perhaps it is easier than that (at least for me). With some self-control anyone can read even if it is long, but I can understand why some just can't focus. From witnessing my aunt and uncle who have four children all under the age of nine, two of them twin girls at age three, I can tell it is much harder for them to focus on anything because they have so much on their minds and they are a busy family. Maybe if we just make an effort to set those thoughts aside then maybe we could concentrate on what is in front of us better. Another topic I notice while reading this article is that time is everything. On page six, the second paragraph shows how much technology is changing and how we must make the best and most efficient of our time. Why do we always have to compete? In the article, it says that the human brain is an outdated computer that needs a faster processor and a bigger hard drive. Our brains being not as fast as they could today is partially our fault. The references to Plato's phaedrus by Socrates, saying, "He feared that, as people start to rely on the written word as a substitute for the knowledge they used to carry inside their heads, they would, in the words of one of the dialogue's character, 'cease to exercise their memory and become forgetful.' Also, because people would be able to 'receive a quantity of information without proper instruction,' they would 'be thought very knowledgeable when they are for the most part quite ignorant.' They would be 'filled with the conceit of wisdom instead of real wisdom.' However, I believe that we are not growing less with our mental capability because of Google because it provides information we would never have access to. It is up to you to decide if we are "pancake people" or not?
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