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Is Google Making Us Stupid?
I think you will be very pleased to read this article. It is longish, and that is part of the story – IS GOOGLE MAKING US STUPID?
The article is from The Atlantic and offers a thorough critique of the internet and how it is changing our brains, the way we think, and the way we act and engage in the world. It brings to mind Picasso, who said, “Computers are useless, they can only give you answers”
David • Ideas • 09/10/08 • 4 comments
Comments
Dad • 09/12/08 • 9:11 AM:I found it strangely difficult to concentrate and read the whole article, it was so long. I think Carr undermines (knowingly) his thesis when he points out that similar criticisms have been made throughout history as new communications technologies have emerged. No doubt, each advance has caused subtle changes in our brains as we adapted. It’s hardly making us stupid.
Even if the Net is making us more stupid, what does Carr plan to do about it? He doesn’t even suggest we limit our time on the blogs (unless I missed it). As for “skimming” articles on the web, I see that as efficiency. We’re looking for answers (Picasso notwithstanding) and it pretty easy to tell when a given article isn’t going to help. (And many of those articles are not only unhelpful, but worthless.) So I’m still optimistic about Google, and the brain.
David • 09/12/08 • 9:34 AM:This video is pretty funny and related.
I don’t think he’s fully saying that google is making us stupid. I think he was asking questions and examining the developments from scientific, neurological, sociological, psychological, angles. I don’t think he made any bold conclusions - so like Picasso (and not like most of the world) I thought he was raising questions.
And let me get this straight, you think it’s a good thing that people (and you’re included apparently) can’t focus or concentrate on reading long things? Yikes. And it seems to me that the internet has and will alter our thinking and our brains far more than any of the previous advances. I too am optimistic, but I think it’s worth investigating.
David • 09/12/08 • 11:46 AM:Watch this - Kevin Kelly’s talk at TED. Very good.
Dad • 09/12/08 • 9:52 PM:I was making a subtle joke when I mentioned not being able to concentrate. Anyway, Kevin Kelly’s talk is even more frightening than Carr’s article. Kelly makes it sound like we’re becoming an ant colony. In fact, ants and bees are successful because they subordinate the individual completely to the community (not like they thought about it first). As we become more dependent on the “one” we lose freedom and individuality, and Kelly hammers that point home emphatically. Holy ice pick through the frontal lobe, Batman!
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