Is Google Making USupid Summary

Technology Is Time and Interest Oriented

The article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” is written by Carr Nicholas who wants to convey a message that media or other technologies could not take place of the way we circuit our own thoughts. He first uses examples from Stanley Kubrick’s 2007: A Space Odyssey to show that his mind is different from before. His way of thinking and the way of reading have changed because nowadays online “instant availability”. He then used many people’s experience on the Google convenience and they meet the same situation like Carr. They changed the way they think so reading becomes a struggle for them. Then Carr wants to systemize it as an option which technology benefits us. Though this could help us improve the
efficiency of obtaining the information and transit to our mind, new technology is weakening people’s ability of deep thinking. People might inevitably begin to take on the qualities of the technologies that could extend people mental rather than our physical capacities.
People might think net is quite different from our traditional way of reading from book however Carr brings some evidences that new technology could gradually change people’s life. Before clock comes to reality, people usually decide when to eat, to work to sleep, to rise by their direct experiences. After people have time concept, the clock help to bring point of reference for both action and thought and his make the scientific mind and scientific man. After the printed book showed up, people worried about using the written word as a substitute for the knowledge they carry inside their heads may cause memory become forgetful and lazy. However the books could serve to spread information, spur fresh ideas, and expand human knowledge. New technologies which bring effectiveness to human were well adopted in people’s daily life. Such as the typewriter, the flow line, steam engine and many other things.
When it comes to the new technology net and Google, this innovation company is exploring the process of thought. Their final goal: artificial intelligence which is even smarter than our brain. Carr admired this great plan but he also indicated that Google was gaining commercial interests with advertisements through collecting information. In the end, he goes back to the scene illustrating an image that people characters turn out to be a machine. He emphasizes technologies are important tools help us to form our original idea, but the neural circuits inside our brains could not be took placed by artificial intelligence. Next I would explain more about how technology changes our life in its own way.
Technology innovation is time-saving oriented.
I agree with Carr’s view on people inevitably choose a more efficient way on their action and thought. Nowadays, we could always see some “lazy” news. A headphone could move to another song just by biting the teeth because the electronic component inside the headphone could sense the biting muscle. Dishwashers keep house women from being annoyed by the dirty dishes. A bed could clean up its sheet automatically after people get up. All these new technologies could save people’s time so they are invented. I would like to use my experience to discuss the electronic dictionary. In the old day, my teacher will say I should prepare a dictionary whenever I need to look up a new word. She said it is a good way to improve English. When I used an electronic dictionary from market, I could use it look up 5 more words at a time than the traditional dictionary. Not mention the checking proficiency in printed dictionary could potentially improve my English Skills. Since the electronic dictionary could be more time-saving, the traditional one is sifted out in the younger generation. It is also same in the article that New York Times adopts a strategy to shorten the information so that people could catch what they want to know faster. Because it could save the time, people would love to accept this feature. That is why people continually invent a faster transportation. It develops from walking, carriage, steam train, car, and flight to nowadays
space ship. People are finding more efficient and effective ways to their daily life. So does Google, No one could deny that Google save huge amounts of minutes in people’s daily life. In the old days, people will take more time and expense to solve a question through searching a book or move to different locations for answer. Now just one simple click on Google, every answer comes out. In a macroscopic view, the technology Google provided saves our time and social costs and it helps our economic develops more efficiently.
Technology innovation is commercial and political interests oriented.
I would first argue about Carr’s doubt on Google’s collecting data in purpose of advertisement interest. We can’t blame a company for its commercial purposes. Every company need ways to earn its living and so does Google. Google services mostly are offered free and we could not take it for granted. The reason why Google do all these for free is related to Google’s company belief which is bringing a better technology to the whole world. Recently Google is launching a project with Wi-Fi balloon flowing around the world so that remote area could also experience the convenience of Internet. Only with macro and foreseeing believes could Google expand so large today. They provided innovative ideas and these ideas are making our daily life more convenient. So it is reasonable for Google to collect our data for commercial reason. As a search Engine Company, the biggest profit is from advertisements. Even though Carr might treat Google’s plan of building a better off artificial brain is mask of commercial interest, it is still a trend for human to develop such thing. Investor will always put their money in potential project like building a brain better than human. Sometimes it is also for political and military purpose. The competitions always exist between different countries. There are so many brilliant innovative projects and technology ideas, but only those which could gain most potential economic and
political interests’ projects are able to get the money from the investor. The investor could also be military commission. People are so thankful for Google to build its free map which help to guide their daily life in the vehicle. Actually the free maps project is partly invested for military detective reason from military commission and it could benefit the public as well.
Technology innovation is changing our ways of reading, our thought and our life. It is no doubt that technology brings advantages to our life but also it has a negative side. The concentration on the virtual net makes people communicate less to their family and interpersonal communication skill is failing. Another problem from technology nowadays is violation of intellectual property right because everything can be so easily taken from the Internet. I believe it is better in America. People in China plagiarize seriously because of the convenience of the technology. Many graduates in less famous college have at least 35% plagiarizing in their graduate thesis. Gradually we use regulations and laws to teach the plagiarizing people a hard lesson. On the other side, we could see that the technology is so convenient that people would rather not to think and just want to copy and paste from Google. I believe human brain is infinitely malleable. Since the technology is bringing human more and more comfortable convenience, I afraid one day human will really become a biological machine.
Is Google making us stupid? Everything has two sides and I consider while Google is making us stupid, it is also making us more intelligent at the same time. No matter how our technology develops, brain is still the only source which could spurt the wisdom spark. Technologies are just some tools helping us to understand the world better.
Works Cited:
Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid? (Cover Story)." Atlantic Monthly (10727825) 302.1 (2008): 56-63. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Oct. 2013.