A Comparison of Jamais Cascio and Nicholas Carr's Articles
Alicia Affeldt
5-9-13
English 101
Technology: Good or Bad? Could you imagine living in a world where technology leads our lives? Jamais Cascio in his article “Get Smart” believes that technology is improving and enhancing our everyday lives. He argues that technology will create a natural phenomenon. However in the article “Is Google making us stupid?” Nicholas Carr argues that our reliance on technology is altering our ability to read, think, and fully be human. Along with my own experiences I agree with Cascio on his findings that the Internet has allowed everyday humans to be submerged into a whole new world. In Nicholas Carr’s article he expresses how the Internet is changing our brains and making us think differently. When he is reading a novel he experiences himself not fully opening up the book and being easily distracted. Instead of reading he is simply skimming and not delving into the text. He explains his trouble as “ I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I am dragging my wayward brain back to the text” (2). By Carr’s observations he realizes that what used to be natural is now a struggle. Instead of really researching a topic people are allowing search engines like Google, to make their lives easier and research for them. Although you are still learning and searching the links are pushing you towards an answer instead of allowing your brain to think for itself. Carr along with many of us believes that it is a nice tool to utilize when research used to take days it may only take a few hours. It allows for better time management but on the negative side it changed our research methods. Another advantage is immediate access to such rich information that could take years to formulate. But on the negative side he states that “ the Net is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation”(1). He is experiencing the negative consequences of technology, which has changed the way his brain
5-9-13
English 101
Technology: Good or Bad? Could you imagine living in a world where technology leads our lives? Jamais Cascio in his article “Get Smart” believes that technology is improving and enhancing our everyday lives. He argues that technology will create a natural phenomenon. However in the article “Is Google making us stupid?” Nicholas Carr argues that our reliance on technology is altering our ability to read, think, and fully be human. Along with my own experiences I agree with Cascio on his findings that the Internet has allowed everyday humans to be submerged into a whole new world. In Nicholas Carr’s article he expresses how the Internet is changing our brains and making us think differently. When he is reading a novel he experiences himself not fully opening up the book and being easily distracted. Instead of reading he is simply skimming and not delving into the text. He explains his trouble as “ I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I am dragging my wayward brain back to the text” (2). By Carr’s observations he realizes that what used to be natural is now a struggle. Instead of really researching a topic people are allowing search engines like Google, to make their lives easier and research for them. Although you are still learning and searching the links are pushing you towards an answer instead of allowing your brain to think for itself. Carr along with many of us believes that it is a nice tool to utilize when research used to take days it may only take a few hours. It allows for better time management but on the negative side it changed our research methods. Another advantage is immediate access to such rich information that could take years to formulate. But on the negative side he states that “ the Net is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation”(1). He is experiencing the negative consequences of technology, which has changed the way his brain