In the beginning of the article, Carr writes that after he gets used to surfing the Net, he finds it is hard for him to concentrate on reading as long as he used to do (589). Beginning the paragraph with this personal experience, Carr not only brings up his argument that the Internet weakens people’s capacity for deep reading and concentration, but also he makes his audience reflect on their own related experience to understand his argument. The anecdotes help Carr set up a sitting for its audience to follow his logic better. After leading the audience to the setting and states his arguments, he introduces a research study conducted by scholars from UCL. The research shows that people exhibit “a form of skimming activity” and avoid reading long passage online (590). The research result also indicates that “there are signs that new forms of ‘reading’ are emerging”. By introducing the research, Carr intends to show that his argument is rooted from factual studies. As a result, when he summarizes the research finding on the emergence of a new reading pattern caused by the Internet, Carr verifies his argument that the way in which he reads and thinks deeply is changing because of the…
you need to find something quickly. However, Nicholas Carr, author of "Is Google Making Us…
In "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" Nicholas Carr argues his deep concern on the use of the Internet and how it is affecting our brains. Carr feels like he has built upon the habit of skimming through articles for research. As a frequent user he has built such a strong habit of this that he can now no longer have the patience to sit down and read an actual book. For it lacks the instant gratification he is so used to getting from the Internet: "What the net seems to be doing is chipping away from my capacity for concentration and contemplation," Carr confesses. The Internet is changing the way its user’s minds process information. People are losing concentration easier than before and instead of truly reading material, they are skimming and mentally…
In Is Google Making Us Stupid?, Nicholas Carr argues that people are more interested in instant gratification when they take in information than they are in critically thinking about it. He states that people adapt very quickly to new technologies and incorporate aspects of said technologies into their perception of the world, so inventions such as the computer, which are developed for the purpose of fast rapid information transfer, influence the rate at which people evaluate information. It is more common to see people unable to concentrate on activities such as reading today than it was ten years ago. People are more used to scrolling through web pages and skimming articles than assessing the information they come across. Although this method of accessing information allows people to research more efficiently, people are also more likely to acquiesce to whatever mindset…
The Internet is making it harder for us to concentrate and become engrossed in the information that we are trying to read. Carr explains how sinking into the depths of an article or getting caught up in the narrative of a book is becoming more and more difficult. “ Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy “ (735) Carr tells us. “ Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three…
Reading and deep thinking is something that does not come natural for us because our minds are already wired to be in a state of distractedness. “The nautral state of the human brain, like that of the brains of most of our relatives in the animal kingdom, is one of distractedness. Our predisposition is to shift our gaze, and hence our attention from one obeject to another, to be aware of as much of what’s going on around us as possible.” (63) Since the rise of technology we have noticed the decling of deep reading and thinking. There is no longer a need to look up information in a book, all of the resources we would ever need are now at our fingertips. Thus, eliminating the need for humans to read and think deeply. Carr mentions that at one time he was able to sit down and read long articles or novels with ease but now he is unable…
Search engines such as google are making our society’s IQ go down faster every year. An everyday human being relies on google to help them find simple answers that most people should already know. Nicholas Carr makes various points on how google or other programs are making people stupid. Carrs essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid” shows us how search engines are in fact making us dumb.…
In the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid” published in The Atlantic Magazine, Nicholas Carr begins by talking of a national issue. Our concentration levels are diminishing. Carr uses the title to point out google as the perpetrator, but he refers to the web as a whole. He used to be able to read for hours. However, he struggles with reading a few pages now. Carr says that our brains are being programmed to learn the answer and shut down. You no longer submerge yourself into knowledge. You simply skim the surface of it. Two of the author’s friends are going through the same thing. A pathologist from the University of Michigan no longer reads anything longer than three of four paragraphs. He simply glances over it. The other friend, Scott…
Furthermore, Carr explains that, "The clock’s methodical ticking helped bring into being the scientific mind and the scientific man. But it also took something away... When the mechanical clock arrived, people began thinking of their brains as operating 'like…
The internet has become an effortless way to acquire new information and answer questions that one may ponder. In “Experts Say Google Does Not Make Us Stupid” by David Weir, Weir suggests that the internet has allowed humans to accommodate to the modern lifestyle and break away from traditional methods of obtaining information. Weir is proposing that the internet has provided a way to more efficiently meet the demands…
Is Google making us stupid(and smarter)? According to articles a and c, it states that Google is making us smarter. On the other hand, article b and d state that Google is making us stupid. First, we will look at Nicholas Carr perspective on the question, next we will so Peter Norvig statement before finally my perspective on the subject.…
They blame the application for affecting their mind. According to them, search engines like Google are to blame for the newly acquired short attention people experience while reading as they cannot read long passages with complete attention like before. Such inattentiveness prevents readers from reading books and articles or reflecting on the information provided. For example, the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” published in The Atlantic by Nicholas Carr blames Google for the changes in mental and comprehension abilities of most people. Carr describes his challenge of reading books like before and writes “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, 2008). He argues that the internet inhibits his…
Since the issue that Nicholas Carr brings up is very significant, he uses very meticulous instances to illustrate his way of thinking. The statistics using in this article are carefully checked and very specific. From the beginning, Nicholas Carr starts with various conspicuous examples to gain readers attention. Then, he uses his logical discussion to prove that Google is making our lives more “machinelike” and lazier. The instances using in the article are well-organized, that proves the profound knowledge in many fields of the author. Nevertheless, Nicholas Carr may take this problem too serious that lead to his one way view in the article. He just thinks negatively then he neglects other…
Nicholas Carr’s Atlantic Online article “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” discusses how the use of the computer affects our thought process. Carr starts out talking about his own experience as a writer and how he felt like “something had been tinkering with his brain, remapping his neural circuitry and reprogramming his memory”. Since starting to use the Internet his research techniques have changed. Carr said before he would immerse himself in books, lengthy articles and long stretches of prose allowing his “mind to get caught up in the narrative or the arguments”(July/August 2008, Atlantic Monthly). Today Carr has found that “his concentration drifts away from the text after several pages and he struggles to get back into the text”. His premise is that since he has spent the past ten years working online, searching and surfing and writing content for databases” his brain circuitry has changed. He indicates that some of his fellow writers have experienced the same kinds of changes in their reading books and maintaining concentration. Some of them said they do not read books as easily because their concentration and focus has become shorter.…
Carr shares the story of two bloggers that are also having problems reading and focusing and feel the internet is responsible. Carr admits that while a recent study at University College London suggests there may be some evidence that the internet is negatively effecting the brain, no long-term studies have been done. With the amount of texting on cell phones and text on the Internet we may be reading more now than when television was the main means of media. Maryanne Wolf, a developmental psychologist, believes that the ability for deep reading that was nurtured by the printing press is being weakened by the way the web puts emphasis on ease and speed of information. Online reading has created “mere decoders of information”, leaving a detachment in the interpretation of text.…