Argument Summary: Is Google Making USupid?

Is Google Making Us Stupid? Nicholas Carr asks this question in his Article published in The Atlantic Magazine and poses the readers to give it some thought. Carr is of the opinion that the internet is changing the way people think and how their minds work; hence he argues that this has a negative effect on the mind of people. Carr suggests that, people’s intellectual lives are becoming like a piece of work in industrial manufacturing that are built for maximum speed and efficiency (Carr n.p.). He is of the opinion that, Google works with search engines is heading to build manmade intelligence on a large scale. Carr thinks that, people should be doubtful of the internet because of the different ways it may be changing the way people think. In my opinion, when I was reading through the article one experience that I could relate to is one that Carr describes as feeling unable to read long texts. I agree with Carr that, people spend much of their time dealing with
information that must be processed quickly hence this may eventually train their minds to start functioning in different ways and shape the process of thinking. However, in my view, I think much of the information found on the internet may not require deep concentration or deep thinking since the internet is far more efficient medium than handwritten texts in summarizing and placing thoughts in context. Thus I believe people have different ways of readings that they can employ, the internet is not end of thought and creativity and Google has only changed how people obtain information. Google and the internet have only allowed people to access information differently than previous methods To start with, people have always had various ways of reading they can employ. Reading a literary text with a serious desire to understand and interpret is not the same as reading a novel for fun. For instance, one tends to be more attentive while reading a text such as a map, timetable or a business letter since they require one to analyze the information and the text carefully to find out information that one may need. Therefore, I think it depends on the information that one is accessing on the internet, one will tend to concentrate on texts that require deep thoughts such as maps; so that one can interpret the information, and maybe less thoughtful when reading information for online fun. Secondly, I disagree with Carr that the internet means the end for thought and luck of creativity as he implies by the idea of "pancake people"(Carr n.p.). I believe human beings will always be creative as they seek to understand the world around them, solve its problems and making it a better place for future generations. Even though, some people have always chosen to live as "pancake people" or some are forced into this situation by living lives where extreme poverty gives them with no chance to envision, hopefully I think with the use of internet search engines such Google, more people will eventually have quick access to knowledge that will help them improve the human condition and produce more rather than fewer thinkers. Again, I believe that the internet offers people with new ways of creativity in all fields. For example, in sectors such as arts and sciences, Google offers too much quick information in these areas for many people and helps to supply knowledge that is necessary for them to advance in their respective fields. I strongly believe that, instant access to information such science and research by the help of Google, cannot fail catalyze the pace of advancements, creativity and discovery since mass collaboration is enabled through online platforms as seen by many co- creative platforms such as Wikipedia, You Tube, and the Face books of this world. Thirdly I think Google has only changed the way people obtain information but it does not make people stupid. I believe google acts a global archive by storing history as it’s made; it acts like a virtual world that is created right alongside our real world. Because of Google, the creation and storage of information has expanded significantly as people can access information that enables them to make new discoveries and expand their knowledge (“The Reality Club…” n.p.). Those discoveries in turn are shared with the world by the help of the internet and search engines such as Google which speeds up the pace of innovation even further. Even though Google has its negative side as suggests by Carr, in my opinion, I think there have been many advances from the time Carr wrote his article to the present time. I believe the internet helps people to learn many things and educates people in many ways. Although some people may tend to rely on the internet for every information, the power of the internet should not be undermined. However, I do believe surfing the internet too much may have its consequences such as unproductivity or low critical thinking, but I think using google in a proper way and using it when necessary can be quite beneficial. In my view, google does not make people stupid, but when used effectively it can be very helpful. For instance, as a student I use google every day and I find it very helpful. It’s very effective in researching various subjects and I usually learn something new every time I use the internet. Although people have become to be more dependent on the internet I do not think it’s a bad thing if one uses it properly. Again, I found the Google Apps for Education as one of the very helpful solution for student collaboration, interactive learning and online classroom that providing convenience. For example, Google has helped people to save time when retrieving information from online unlike in the past when people would be expected to go to the library to look at many books in order to gather information on various things from academic to personal like on medical issues cooking or any of topics of interest. Nowadays one does not need a library card and a large stack of books in order to get information that was very elusive in the past making it a very convenient way of retrieving information. The New York Library recently published a list of questions asked to librarians before the introduction of Google. The librarians did not always know the answer to some of this questions but when the same questions were posed to Google, within seconds answers to the questions had been found. One such question was one asked in 1958 which asked “What is the nutritional value of human flesh?” – 6 June 1958). Google’s answer to this was "the nutritional value of human flesh is roughly the same as that of pork, depending on the cut.” Asking a librarian this question would have him scratching his head because he would not know where to retrieve this information (Mangan n.p.).

However, positive and negative effects of the internet are determined by people's own decision.
It’s the decision of people to analyze the benefits and also be knowledgeable of the dangers of the internet. If people depend on the internet for everything they may run the risk of becoming "Pancake people". I think people should keep hold of their common sense and assess where the internet fits in their life and not allow it to corrupt their minds. In conclusion, Carr articles touches on a topic that is very important, since the introduction of the internet has brought about a rapid changes in how the society go about accomplishing tasks. However, I do not think that google makes people stupid, since being unable to read long texts can be as a result of the different ways people employ while reading, it’s certainly not the end of creativity but it has only ushered a new error of obtaining information where people must adapt and recognize but not dwell on old ways of obtaining information and
knowledge.