Is Google Making USupid

Nicholas Carr, posed the question, “Is Google making us stupid”, and asks his readers to give it some thought. The article made suggestions such as the internet changing the way the mind works and that the internet has negative consequences on the human brain. Carr wants everyone to be cautious of the internet because of the many different ways it has affected and will continue to affect the way we think. When I think about this article, I can see the many different tactics Carr used, such as fact vs fiction, cause and effect, and the clearly stated argument.

In the article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, the main argument the author, Nicholas Carr is trying to make is to explain how the Internet becomes our only source of information. Carr is also trying to warn oncoming generations in how the Internet has affected our ability to read long pieces or to be able to retain information for a long period of time. Carr provides personal experience, imagery, and a professional analysis that is backed by research to hook the audience in and persuade them that in today’s society, the Internet is only causing problems rather than any solutions.Throughout the article Carr provides an abundant amount of rhetorical modes by giving examples and studies from different organizations . Carr gives an insight on the positive ways the Internet had influenced his life.

In the essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, Nicholas Carr expresses his beliefs and personal experiences on how the internet has altered our brains and how we think. He addresses the fact that, although our brains’ abilities to deep read and concentrate are suffering, the internet is extremely beneficial and convenient. Because of the easy accessibility, it takes little to no effort to find information, and therefore, a minimal amount of thinking is required. Carr highlights that people are more impatient because of the internet and that our minds are becoming more erratic. The author used research, conducted by a U.K. educational consortium, to show that a new form of reading is developing over time; rather than reading every word on a page, it has turned to more of a skimming method. Nicholas Carr realizes that we may be doing more reading than ever due to the internet, but it is different in the way that people have to interpret the text. Reading, unlike talking, is not a natural ability. One must learn to deep read, make connections, and translate the underlying meaning. Overall, Carr believes it is a mistake to rely fully on computers because in the end, it will just be our own intelligence that morphs into artificial intelligence.

There is no denying the incredible library of knowledge the internet has made readily available for all to use. Having such a resource is transforming modern society in many ways, as it brings insight and news across the world at a moment’s notice, all the while enhancing educational and technological advancements. However, according to Sven Birkets, an American essayist and literacy critic, in his essay, “The Owl Has Flown”, it is not without fault as observations are to be made on how this new resource has transformed people’s intelligence and wisdom. The author theorizes that the large, almost unlimited, library that is now being offered by services such as the internet, reshapes the public’s knowledge. Knowledge is transformed to be horizontal or insubstantial compared to the much deeper lateral understanding pertaining to older generations because of the amount of time they spent dwelling on a much smaller set of resources. This observation made by Birkets in the late 90’s is expanded upon, and modernized by Nicholas Carr, an American writer and author, in a more inflicting and self-reflecting article for The Atlantic magazine entitled “Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains”. Carr does not just blame the Google search engine in this claim, but the internet as a whole on how it impacts concentration and our ability to contemplate. These cognitive impacts are observed and explained in more scientific terms by Eric Jaffe, a regular Observer

In Nicholas Carr’s, “Is google making us stupid,” Carr indicates a problem that affects a majority of the internet users; that being as time we spend on the internet increases, the more we are diminishing our intellectual ability, and loosing the ability to become intertwined in a lengthy article or an extended book. He is suggesting that the technology we are in contact with on a daily basis, has a negative effect on our cognitive ability, and is forcing our brain’s to evolve. Throughout the article, Carr argues the negative effect media, mainly the internet, is having on his capacity and concentration: he effectively argues his point through the uses of many rhetoric appeals, that draw in the reader. His use of logos, compares the past and

Carr said “What if I do all my readings on the web not so much because the way I read has changed. i.e. I’m just seeking convenience, but because the way I THINK has changed?” (Carr, pg 7). Since the internet has come into play people have stooped reading books because is easier to just google what they are wanting to know. The internet can change the way someone can process the information on a screen than in a book and how much is actually being consumed by the person. Not only is it changing the way we understand but every technology is an expression of the human will. This allows us to reshape nature to better serve our needs and desires. The internet has the greatest power over how and what we think

Carr starts at his paper in a first point of view. He expresses his feelings that the internet is changing his own personal thinking. This man is an author, he's born to read and even he says that he's having problems because he can no longer read anymore. Carr says that “the web has been a godsend” (Carr), but he also explained it's not only a

At the beginning of his essay, Carr describes his interactions between reading and the internet: “I’m not thinking the way I used to think... Now my concentration starts to drift after two or three pages... For more than a decade now, I’ve been spending a lot of time online” (150). In this passage, Carr depicts how the internet has changed him; he used to be able to concentrate for a long time, but with distractions from the internet he is unable to hold his focus while reading and can only concentrate for “two or three pages.” By including himself in the group of people who are afflicted by the pitfalls of the internet, Carr appears more honest and credible, which makes his argument believable.

In Nicholas Carr’s article entitled, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?,” he explains that the up rise of computers, and technology, has taken a toll on the former ability to read and understand what is being read. Suddenly, what was once so simple is now a prolonged, agonizing task which readers like Carr have experienced. The infamous internet has become the basis for information people seek to collect. Personally, I think Carr’s interpretation of the increase in technology is most accurate when referring to the overtake of artificial intelligence, the inability to read small to large amounts of written work, and the obvious change in the way we think as a person.

As the internet offers us the benefits of quick and easy knowledge, it is affecting the brain’s capacity to read longer articles and books. Carr starts Is Google Making Us Stupid with the closing scene from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey when Dave taking apart the memory circuits that control HAL, the artificial brain of the ship. Carr feels the time he spends online is rewiring his brain. He is no longer able to concentrate long enough to read more than a few paragraphs. Even though the internet is useful, it seems to be changing the way our brain takes in information. He feels as though this brain wants to take information in the same way the internet disperses it: in

Google is slowing our brains down and making us depend on the machines we have around us. We do not need to take the time to think anymore because we have the devices around us to answer all our unanswered questions, right? Carr uses examples of figurative languages to make the reader understand the harm of google. He also uses argumentative technique to make the reader agree on his opinion of the internet by using facts and opinions of other articles. Last, he gives reasons on why he thinks google is slowing his and others brain and thinking skills down.

When you have a question, need to look up a fact, or need help with research where do you go? Google. Google is always there to help you and solve all your problems. In the article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid.” briefly talks about how Nicholas Carr lost most of his concentration and focus while writing. Using google, or the net in general is a convenient tool that makes everyone's life easier. Since its quick and easy to get what you’re looking for through the internet, it’s made Nick’s ability to read a long article and understand it harder. As he spends time writing, he ends up getting fidgety, loses his train of thought, and wants to be doing something else. Deep reading normally comes natural to people, but for Nick, it has now became

By quoting the ending scene of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001, Nicholas Carr wanted to point out that our brain would be reprograming by intellectual technology. He showed that Internet access not only bring us much benefits in searching and exploring the desire information, it is also changing our way of thinking and processing the information. Nicholas Carr afraid of that we are losing ability to read long article and less focus on deep thinking. He derived some of those author who experienced the similar result.

Nicholas Carrs article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” makes points that I agree with, although I find his sources to be questionable. The article discusses the effects that the Internet may be having on our ability to focus, the difference in knowledge that we now have, and our reliance on the Internet. The points that are made throughout Carrs article are very thought provoking but his sources make them seem invaluable.

In the July-August 2008 Atlantic magazine, Nicholas Carr published "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" (http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google). In this article Nicolas Carr argues that the internet is changing how one thinks, and how it is causing a bad effect on one’s brain. I have to disagree. Although the internet is constantly changing, it helps in a positive way. Firstly, google has become a great resource for educational purposes. Secondly, the internet has become a great resource for intercultural experiences. Due to the general population spending most of their time on computer’s and smart phones, this information is accessible to us whenever needed.