Nicholas Carr's Essay 'Is Google Making USupid?'

A graduate of Harvard University, Nicholas Carr’s essay, published in Altantic in 2008, expresses his opinion about the effects google has on our b rains. Carr’s writings about technology made appearances in the New York Times Magaz ine, Wired, the Financial Times and Diee Ziet. The intended audience for his article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” is general and it’s about if google is effecting our abilities and the way we think. Nicholas Carr uses narration, explanation and cause / effect modes to exp lain to readers about how using the internet has changed our abilities, inform us on the changes of our t hought process and the effects it has on our brain.
Carr opens the article with a poignant scene from Stanl ey Kubrick’s A Space
Odyssey. In the scene the supercomputer HAL pleads to, the astronaut, D ave Bowman to “Stop... my mind is going ...I can feel it” (337). Carr expresses that he can “f eel it, too” (337). He goes on and narrates about how his mind is changing. He explains that he can’t concentrate as long as he used to. Reading more than three pages has become difficult whe n it was not challenging to him before. Carr then informs readers about his increasing in ternet usage. He believes he can read more articles online than going to the library which can be more beneficial to him. Carr comes to the conclusion that the internet had the same effect on our brains that Dave had on the supercomputer. His mind has transformed to interpreting info rmation more quickly. Moving

from narration to explanation, Carr also realized th at other people are experiencing the same changes of abilities. He mentions others from blogs an d researchers who share the same loss of abilities to prove internet usage abilities.
Carr quotes blogs from Scott Karp and Bruce Friedman about the effects of the internet.
They both explain the internet usage affect by telling us that they cannot read as long without fighting to stay focus. Scott confesses that, “he has st opped reading books altogether” (338).
Carr uses one of the University College London research programs to show that people only use articles and other written source on the Web as “a for m of skimming activity...” meaning we do not fully read the written sources (338). We just scan i t to find what’s important and then move to the next source.
He also mentions Maryanne Worf, a psychologist at Tuffs University, quote stating, “Reading... is not an instinctive skill for human being” (339). She expresses the importance of teaching our brains the translation of the w ords we see on paper into the words we speak. Carr uses the analogy of Friedrich Nietzsche to he lp the reader better understand the adaptation the brain goes through. As his vision fails, Nie tzsche abilities to focus his eyes on a page while writing became difficult. However when he bought his typewriter and mastered typing, he was able to type with his eyes shut. Carr uses the Nietzsche story to explain to reader that "the brain... has the ability to reprogram itself on the fly, altering the way it functions" (340).
With his narration and the explanations on how the in ternet can affect our brains, Carr explains the effects of high internet usage.
Since the internet has corrupted the way we think, our w ay of living will change as well.
Carr use the example from Friederick Winslow Taylor of t he Industrial Revolution. For years the growth of technology as advanced and began to replace us in factories. Carr refers to
Taylor stated," in the past the man has been first...in the future the system must be first" meaning if we

let the technology take control of our lives it will (
341). Carr believes that "Taylor ethic is beginning to govern the realm of the mind as well. Carr also informs readers about how the founder of Google view the situation. The founders Sergey B rin and Larry Page commented on the situation. Brin remarks, "Certainly if you had the w orld's information directly attached to your brain... you'd be better off" (342). In addition to Bri n, Page explain the Google is "really trying to build artificial intelligence..." (342). Carr f eel as if the Brin comment was unsettling and informs the readers that google is distracting us from c oncentrated thinking.
Carr explains how high internet usage causes changes in abi lities and the thought process of our brain and by using narration and explanation and cause and effect modes. Carr refer back to the super computer to show how he is afraid for the futur
e. He believes computers will replace our minds, and world will revolve around computers.