Humanity is in a perpetual state of trying to make living in the world an easier place. In just a few seconds, people can access information at their disposal, instead of having to look through different books to find what you need. But the question arises; does this boundless place for information honestly make us more informed than before we had the internet? Joe Keohane, the author of the article “How Facts Backfire,” is a political journalist who has also written articles on technology and culture. He decided to write this article during the midterm election to help educate voters that they need to be better informed about a topic before they make a decision. Nicholas Carr, the author of “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” is an American writer
Do we depend on the Internet to answer all of our questions? Nicholas Carr, an American author, wrote “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” published in 2008 in The Atlantic, and he argues about the effects of the Internet on literacy, cognition, and culture. Carr begins his argument with the ending scene of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Carr believes that we depend on the Internet more than just looking up the answers in the book ourselves. He is trying to prove that our generation is consumed by the Internet. In addition to this, I feel his argument is effective because he builds credibility with personal facts, using statistics, and making emotional appeals throughout the essay. He gives many details and examples to backup and support his argument.
Nicholas Carr is “an American journalist and technology writer” who attended Dartmouth College and Harvard University. Over the past decade, Carr has examined and studied the different impacts that computers have on our life and the “social consequences” of this new technology (Carr 123). In “A Thing Like Me” by Nicholas Carr, the author claims that technology is overpowering and dominating our lives. Carr expands on this idea further by defining it as people using “tools that allow them to extend their abilities” (Carr 124). To help with his argument, Carr uses a historical narrative about the creation of computer software, named ELIZA. Carr uses the creation of ELIZA as a way to get his point across to the reader. The creator of ELIZA, Joseph Weizenbaum, programmed a system into the computer that essentially allowed ELIZA to be able to have conversations with virtually anyone.
The internet has become a necessity for many people these days, it provides quick information and is a primary source of knowledge. In the article, "Is Google Making Us Stupid", the author Nicholas Carr, is describing the effects that technology has on the human brain. Carr begins with a scene from the end of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, where supercomputer HAL is being disconnected by astronaut Dave Bowman who was sent to space on a deadly mission by the machine. The author can relate his personal experiences with the scene where Dave admits he as felt someone tinkering his brain and not being able to think like he used to because of supercomputer HAL. Carr cannot focus
We are at a time where technology is widespread; it has become a part of our everyday life leading to advantages and disadvantages. Technology nowadays has become the most important topic to discuss and everyone has developed their own unique opinion. In Nicholas Carr’s article published in 2008, “Is Google Making Us Stupid” he argues that as technology progresses people’s mentality changes. Carr is effective in his argument by sharing his fears and personal experiences to have an effect on the audience utilizing pathos and ethos. Not only does he include his own experience, but he also includes other people’s point of views. He goes on to support his claim of how technology
In today’s society, technology plays a very important role in its ability to function, it helps people find information, communicate with others far away and provides entertainment. In “Fahrenheit 451”, a book written by Ray Bradbury, a dystopian future where books have been made illegal is presented. In the article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, raises many questions about technology and its effects on society. It’s quite evident that we have become quite dependent on technology due to our overconsumption of it.
Nowadays, the internet is the biggest marketing and media tool that people can use today. It can have various effects on people’s daily life ranging from bad to beneficial. In the essay “Is Google making us stupid” by Nicholas Carr writes about how internet usage in the 21st century is changing people’s reading habit and a cognitive concentration. Particularly, he emphasizes on Google’s role in this matter and its consequences on making people machine like. Carr also stated that the online reading largely contributes to people’s way of reading a book. He is extremely focused on the online reading’s distraction that most affects people’s mind.
William Badke assessment of the article by Nicholas Carr “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” has a unique twist. As an associate librarian at Trinity Western University, he feels online search engines like Google or Yahoo restricts profound thought and retrains comprehension. Badke states “we can keyword search right to the best stuff without reading much of the book itself.” (online) He accepts research by Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan called iBrain, which submits the brain, adapts to the surrounding environment. IBrain coins the phrase “digital native” and “digital immigrants (newcomers to the digital world) to compare how the brain operates in each setting. This research is producing a new generation, Net generation or “IBrain generation” causing
In his book Smarter Than You Think, Clive Thompson aims to persuade the readers into believing that technology has had a positive impact on our society and the World as a whole. He claims that technology has improved our retention rates, allows us to write and think with global audiences and even improves our senses.
In the essay, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr argues that utilization of the internet has an adverse effect on our way of thinking and functioning in everyday life. Whether it be reading a newspaper, or scrolling through Facebook, internet media has forever stamped its name in our existence.
In “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr uses some evidences in his argument in order to convince the idea of the other people . I believe Carr’s argument is effective because he starts explaining how he feels when he is reading a book and immersing himself in a book. However now, because he uses Internet a lot, he loses his focus of attention after reading some pages. He compares about the past reading ability with the present like “The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle” (Carr 57). Carr also tells that he is not the only one who is getting a trouble with reading. Instead, he believes
In the article “Is Google Making us Stupid?”, author Nicholas Carr expresses his idea that the internet is taking over society and our thinking process. Google is affecting our abilities to read books, longer articles, and even older writings. Carr believes that we have become so accustomed to the ways of the internet, and we are relying on Google 's ability to sort through the details for us so we don 't have to, in order to get the information we find necessary more efficiently. He finds that this process has become almost too handy, and that it is corrupting us from becoming better educated.
Carr opens up his argument with his personal struggle to focus on reading the text. Unlike the past when he enjoyed reading lengthy articles easily, he acknowledges that his mind constantly drifts away from the text and that he looks for something else to do. “I’ve been spending a lot of time online, searching and surfing and sometimes adding to the great databases of the Internet....Research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes… Even when I’m not working, I’m as likely as not to be foraging in the Web’s info-thickets”(Carr 348). He realizes that the increasing amount of time spending on the Internet has caused his intellectual pain. By exposing his personal experience and analyzing it, he successfully points out the issue he faces.
Nicolas Carr, an author and researcher, insinuates that people who use computers and the internet are becoming more shallow human beings and that this technological tool, despite its advantages that are applauded by many, is harming society as a whole. Carr has discussed these thoughts in his book The Shallows, on television in an interview with Stephen Colbert, and in an article in The Atlantic entitled “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” While Carr believes that the internet has its place and that it has been extremely helpful to him as a researcher and writer, he also believes that the internet encourages multitasking and boosts superficiality. I share these same thoughts with Carr. While the internet has been extremely helpful in producing a more efficient and fast-paced environment, it has at the same time produced challenges and weaknesses in our society, like multitasking and frivolity.
Technology could help people adapt in ways that could help them change the way they live and think. Although, it could negatively affect the way people process information through the internet such as having problems with literacy and distractions. In “Smarter than You Think”, Clive Thompson claims that technology can help humans be smarter. Technology such as computers to mentally challenge themselves, so they can improve. Thompson talks about how playing a computer in any sort of game like chess could be a game changer for humans to help them improve their performance and overcome their mistakes. Thompson also claims that digital tools can help people’s lives become easier and connect with other people through social media. Nicholas Carr’s article “Is Google Making Us Smarter?”, argues how technology doesn’t make people any smarter. Carr mentions how people’s literacy is being overthrown by technology. People tend to read whatever interest they want by using a search engine rather than reading books. Another