Chapter four of Blown to Bits focuses heavily on the quantity of data now available to everyone. The book then began to question how we know what we know, that is to say how the search results on google affect the perception we have of the world. Blow to Bits also brings up relevance, and how in a fast changing and even faster growing digital world, how do businesses and people stay relevant. With so many search results it's easy to be lost forever. One thing I found most interesting was thought of how heavily I base my facts and opinions on search results, that for all I know could be manipulated. This scary thought isn’t just about what we see when we ask google a question, its what we don't see that scares me. Another key point is the
From 1993 to 1996, The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda was commissioned when a peace treaty signed by the two tribes – The Hutus and Tutsis. Under the supervision of Romeo Dallaire when the peace broke lose. The next few months were “hell” as slain government officials, innocent Tutsis and Hutus laid on the streets in this massive genocide. In “Shattered” by Eric Walters we are introduced to a former soldier from the civil war in Rwanda named Jacques. Jacques was born and raised in the Canadian army as his father and grandfather were soldiers too. He was trained in the Special Ops Unit that he could withstand unarmed combat. Jacques served in Yugoslavia, Haiti, the Middle East twice wearing the blue beret of The United Nation
Consistently there is some new innovative progression advancing into the world trying to make life simpler for individuals. In the article, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?", writer Nicholas Carr clarifies his contemplations on how he trusts the web is risking making individuals loaded with simulated information. Carr starts by clarifying how he feels that the web is bringing on his center issues, how he can never again be totally submerged in a book, and the motivation behind why he gets restless while perusing. He then goes ahead to discuss how his life is encompassed by the web and how that is the fault for the issues he has towards not having the capacity to stay associated with a content; however, in the meantime says how and why the web has been a
In this era of big data, number crunching is capable of influencing your action and redirecting your life in unimaginable ways. In this book “Super Crunchers”, economist Ian Ayres illustrates through different examples how the multi-billion dollar companies of today, collect and analyse massive raw data at lightning speed to dig into the subtle aspects of human behaviour and deliver staggering results on how it could impact their business.
The web is a worldwide PC organize giving an assortment of data, permitting individuals the simplicity of gets to and productivity of finding the information they crave, however there are a few disadvantages to the web. In the article "Is Google Making Us Stupid" the writer Nicholas Carr's subject on the web is that the data that is expressed to is so efficient and effective to information that our minds don’t processes as well as retain the knowledge thrown at us. Carr contends that the web is rewiring his cerebrum. The way Carr believes is divergent, making basic considering, breaking down, and revealing verifiable dialect in the content exceptionally troublesome. He fears that the web make us lose the not just the capacity to hold the information
In his essay, “Is Google Making us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr discusses societies dependence to easily accessible information. Since the inception of the internet and search engines, information has been accessible to us instantly. Although instant access to information is a desirable advancement in technology, it comes with questionable consequences. From his own personal experience, Carr explains that since this invention, his brain feels as if it has been tinkered with. Carr explains that his brain does not work the way it used to, that it’s very hard for him to become engrossed in books, articles, or essays. As he continued to try to become engrossed in these readings, he found that his thoughts would wander and he would become restless after just a few
Over the years, technology has developed into something that we cannot live without. Society is constantly being dictated and reshaped by the newest technology. In Nicholas Carr’s article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, he expounded on the uncomfortable sense that someone, or something was tinkering with his brain. He realized that he’s not thinking the way he used to. Additionally, he explains how our brains aren’t familiar with critical thinking anymore. He also introduces the idea that the Internet is doing more harm to us than good. I believe Carr’s ideas on the negative effects of the Internet are well founded. The validity surrounds us daily.
For one thing, Google, like the railroad in its time, is an important part of how people interact with each other today. People use Google to digitally meet with others, communicate, and even sell things. Multiple people are affected by Google each day. 87% of people have claimed to use the internet in 2016 (Anderson). To add onto this the number of people who don’t use the internet has been decreasing since 2000.
If a person wishes to be up to date on what is going on the world around them, in all facets and walks of life, then they must spend a considerable portion of time merely skimming the water of each pool of knowledge, never having the time to truly sink their feet in. This correlates directly back to the massively increased availability of information and writings, whose shoulders Birkerts puts the blame of our loss upon. Nicholas Carr cites a study done on the “behavior of visitors to two popular research sites” which gives its users an even larger degree of online texts.
Chapter 4 of blown to bits discusses search engines and how the world views them, as well as how they are defined as successful or not. Search engines are not judged based on the correctness of their information but instead if humans are happy with the results given by the search engine. The authors give an example of the search for the word “spears” the top results were all britney spears and her sisters the few exceptions were some other celebrities. The chapter then goes on to explain that whether the results seem right this is what humanity has decided is right. It then gives a couple more examples one of amazon and one of google.
It’s hard to believe that Google began as a small online search engine created by two college students in a dusty garage, which eventually developed into one of the most prominent companies in the world. It started in California in 1998 by Sergey Brin and Larry Page, two individuals who aspired to collect the world 's resources in an organized manner, making it universal and accessible for all. Programs like Google expose users to an infinite amount of material, allowing individuals to process information at an unprecedented rate. With just a click of a button the World Wide Web makes this possible, but are we truly aware of the side effects it may have on our brains? The New York Times best seller, Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What The Internet is Doing to our Brains explores how the Net shapes the way our minds think. He argues that the medium to which information is presented can be more influential than the content itself, thus corrupting the minds of individuals in ways that society may or may not be aware of. Carr also implies that the Internet is making individuals incapable of reading deeply, specifically with long pieces of writing, which essentially affects a person’s capacity to concentrate and analyze information. Through Carr’s personal experience with technology, we also get an understanding of the roots of his ideologies.
Ian Leslie’s article, “Google Makes Us All Dumber”, depicts how search engines like Google are making people have accustomed people to become dependent on finding answers to their question in a quick and easy matter. Leslie argues that the Internet is causing people to be less curious about learning new information because they know that any question they have can be answered within a fast Google
Nicholas Carr, Harvard alumni and member of Encyclopedia Britannica’s editorial board of advisors, questioned the effects of search engines on our minds in his article to The Atlantic entitled, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” claiming that the use of search engines causes a loss of the ability to deeply read and as therefore causes our minds to lose the ability to process information. He used personal stories to depict the apparent change in his and others ' minds from having the ability to "read deeply," to habitually skimming over the text in an effort to hastily extract information. Specifically targeting the leaders of the Google search engine - whom he said believe that, "Ambiguity is not an opening for insight but a bug to be fixed," - he related several causal reasons as to why the engines affect our minds negatively. He used a study on online research habits from the University College London to stress the point that people conducting research tend to read "no more than one or two pages of an article or book
Nicholas Carr’s 2008 article in The Atlantic, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, argues that the Internet and access to vast amounts of information is corroding the attention spans and thought complexity of the billions of Internet users around the world. As Carr himself puts it, “Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.” (Carr) He proposes that having many different sources at once will cause readers to skip around sporadically rather than thoughtfully consume information, and that Google has an agenda to cause this behavior due to their economic interests. Overall, Carr paints a cynical outlook on the prevalence in Google and any societal changes stemming from its use. David Weir’s 2010
Sergey Brin noted, “Some say Google is God. Others say Google is Satan. But if they think Google is too powerful, remember that with search engines, unlike other companies, all it takes is a single click to go to another search engine.” Nicholas Carr’s essay challenges this assertion. Nicholas Carr believes even though there are multiple search engines, “the faster we surf across the Web-the more links we click and pages we view-the more opportunities Google and other companies gain to collect information about us and to feed us advertisements.” This topic elicits such strong responses because technology is a part of our everyday lives. Technology is only becoming more advanced and will continue to be a source of debate for all who use it.
Chapter 3 of Blown to Bits is all about sending and receiving information from other computer users online and what can come from it. Computers have IP addresses that servers use to identify individual computers to keep things in order.The server Hierarchy reads the address, then reads the address that you want to send to and forwards it to the address. As helpful as this is, sending information digitally and efficiently, the chapter addresses some problems that can occur, like misreads and sending to a computer with a similar IP address, or someone being able to track the sender/receiver of a message and could be able to find you, etc.