Google

Daydriana Rankin
ENG 102
Dan Childers
30 March 2012
Synthesis:
“I’m just going to Google it” is one of the most common phrases heard throughout high school and college campuses of today as a response to several unknown questions. Google is one of the most popular search engines of the Internet that is often referred to as the “Best Friend” of those who constantly rely on it for guidance. Since the emergence of the Internet, there has been a huge debate over whether or not Google and the Internet as a whole is hindering the human thought process. Nicholas Carr is one author that believes although Google may be our “Best Friend”, it is not necessarily good for the way that we are beginning to think. Carr outlines his argument on this subject in the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” and is challenged by a counter-argument by another author, Trent Batson. In the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, Nicholas Carr outlines his views on the negative effects that the internet as a whole has on human‘s way of thinking. His main point throughout the entire article is that because the internet is so easy to access, it is contributing to human’s laziness. Carr begins his argument by explaining his own personal relationship with the internet and describes how the usage of this technology has changed his reading habits overall. Carr states that he used to be a strong reader once, who had no problems reading books and lengthy articles, but after the spread and accessibility of the internet, reading more than two or three pages at a time has become a problem for him. The main problem within Google and the Internet, as Carr states, is the fact that it is “chipping away capacity for concentration and contemplation“ which is ultimately caused by distractions. For example, as the author points out, when “surfing the web” one does not usually stay on the same website the entire time they are sitting at the computer desk. This happens because it is so easy to click on multiple tabs to access other Internet sources such as: email, social networking websites, and blogs. Carr believes that these distractions cause a shift in our thinking because before the Internet, a person could focus on reading books without the temptations of other things. The distractions that Carr states lead to his idea that we as readers are becoming “skimmers”, meaning that we no longer read texts in depth. Carr provides valid reasoning for the previous statement. In the article, he uses his own personal analogy of once being a scuba diver in a sea of words, but since the emergence of the internet, he describes himself as jet skier who zips or skims along the surface of the words. Throughout the article, Carr discusses why this deep reading has become a struggle not only for him, but to many others. Carr really proves this point in his argument when he refers to Bruce Friedman (another blogger), who admittedly says that because of the way that he scans readings online and jumps from link to link, he can not focus enough to read books such as “War and Peace” anymore. Another method that Carr uses to prove his point is referencing many neurological studies on how Internet usage affects cognition. These studies revealed that most internet users, when observed, used a form of “skipping activity”. This meant that the users bounced from one site to another over a short period. Carr refers to the authors of the study report by quoting, “there are signs that new forms of “reading” are emerging as users power bros through titles, content pages, and abstracts going for quick wins. It almost seems that they go online to avoid reading in the traditional sense.” Carr then states a comparison by saying that it is true that we may reading more than those of the 1970s and 1980s, but it is a different kind of reading that does not require us as humans to perform make rich mental connection that once formed from reading deeply without distractions. This eventually leads to the point Carr makes that readers are no longer reading in a traditional sense because the internet is causing new forms of reading which are also branching off into other areas such as television, magazines, and newspapers. Carr makes his point very clearly when he refers to these other areas. He states that articles in newspapers are becoming shorter and that television adds text to inform audiences more quickly of what the article or show will be about. Perhaps the most important reference Carr makes in this article is when he refers to Friedrich Nietzsche and the typewriter. The typewriter reference made some very valid points in Carr’s argument. It stated that because of the technologies of the typewriter, Nietzsche’s writing became tighter and more telegraphic which is also a way that we as humans can think about the way that we read now. Although Carr makes some very valid points in his argument, there are some discrepancies in his argument which is pointed in “A Response to Nicholas Carr’s ’Is Google Making Us Stupid?’ by Trent Batson. Batson describes Carr’s criticism of Google and the Internet as one that is “superficial and misses the humanizing impact of Web 2.0. Batson states that he is an advocate for technology and promotes it because it goes beyond the words of a printed book. He agrees with Carr by saying that the internet is branching off and ultimately taking the place of printed books, but states some very important points to prove his argument in this case. Batson says that books only provide information in a limited way compared to the Internet. He also makes the point that books imply the idea that only one person “owned” the ideas in book. Batson then goes on to say that books are heavy, expensive, and take a long time to produce; therefore, they are hard to respond to. He ultimately thinks that books offer a slow spark to conversation and says that they undervalued the natural ways that humans learn: through oral interaction in and in a group. This is a very good point in Batson’s argument because it challenges Carr‘s argument by saying that books are not the way that we naturally learn anyway. Batson compares the way that we “skim” around as a type of hybrid morality which helps us create knowledge continually. Both authors make some very valid points in their arguments. Carr believes that Google and the Internet is causing us to think in a different way because we lose our trained ability to focus. However, Batson makes a good counter-argument by saying that the Internet appeals more to our natural way of thinking. Perhaps