Smarter Than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds For The Better

In Clive Thompson’s article “Smarter than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for the Better,” he argues that technology is positively changing the way people think and how they affect everyday activities. He uses the role of computers in chess playing as an example to steer away from the idea of “man vs. machine” and, instead, highlight the powerful relationship between humans and computers if they work together. According to Thompson, technology was initially created to influence intellectual development. Moreover, he claims that electronics such as machines can potentially enlarge the mind’s storage of knowledge, identify connections more easily, and encourage communication and publication. However, he fails to explain that humans
Electronic devices promote social awareness through social media applications. As Thompson mentions, they provide a platform for individuals to share and learn ideas and concerns among with others (349). However, that platform can become a person’s main source communication which can lead to the inability of communicating properly in person. As Sherry Turkle notes in No Need to Call, smart phones are used as protection from reality (376). With phones, there are no commitments, so people can generate a better version of themselves online by creating profiles and avatars. They have the advantage of displaying more qualities than they possess. As Turkle notes, Stephen A. Mitchell and Margaret J. Black mentions how in psychoanalysis, online life makes it easier for people to represent parts of themselves, not their whole (390). For example, Turkle researched a group of teenagers and discovered the changes technology had in shy teenagers. Audrey, one of the girls, was more outgoing online because Internet programs allow her to showcase the better aspects of her life, and she could edit texts to make herself appear more appealing before publishing them (374). However, in real life conversations, humans do not have that advantage because it is harder to mask true qualities in a person in a short amount of time. The reliance on technology also affects how people uphold conversations outside of smartphone devices. Individuals prefer text conversations since they have control over the conversation; they are not forced to reply instantly or at all. As a result, people refrain from other forms of communication. As Turkle notes, Stefana Broadbent states, “80 percent of calls on cell phones are made to four people, 80 percent of Skype calls are made to two people…” People are unintentionally dismissing voice required conversations as the use of smartphones