Posted on 05/30/2011 8:58:22 AM PDT by Texas Fossil
Like tens of millions of others, US technology writer Nicholas Carr found the lure of the worldwide web hard to resist -- until he noticed it was getting harder and harder to concentrate.
He set out his concerns in a celebrated essay headlined "Is Google making us stupid?"
And his latest book "The Shallows" explores in depth what he fears the Internet is doing to our brains.
"The seductions of technology are hard to resist," Carr acknowledges in that book, which has sold an estimated 50,000 hardback copies in the United States alone. But he thinks it's time to start trying.
In a speech at last week's Seoul Digital Forum and an interview with AFP, Carr restated his concerns that IT is affecting the way people think and feel and even the physical make-up of their brains.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
--
What does this mean? If MSM writers want us to turn off the web, I know why. But I don't doubt that the information overload of the web plus the extremely heavy workload that all companies expect of their employees have changed the contemplative side of their employees life. When I traveled for a living I found my best think time was when driving in the car alone. That is not a new thing.
I built my first PC about the time the author bought his, so I can identify with the love of technology and at the same time the hate of what it has done to my life in some respects.
Computers are tools, nothing more. In the right hands they can solve problems quickly. But, software does not solve problems by itself.
my mind is now a cluttered mess...trying to cope with tmi.
For certain people, every new invention seems to be the end of the world.
Yep, the car was for the buggie whip manufacturers.
Yes I’m sure the availablity of information to the “little” people is a problem for the fiction/fact writers.
Makes their job harder. No more blowing smoke you know where.
These ‘friends’ who only have our best interests at heart want us to give up the only source for truth there is in this world that is not filtered by main stream media that is intent on brainwashing and squashing truth. They cannot control it, thus they seek other ways to dissuade us to come back to the flock. Screw this author and his liberal buddies.
I find I have less and less patience to try to figure things out, or even remember a forgotten fact or name - Google is just too convenient as a brain amplifier.
I suspect our predecessors felt the same way about fountain pens, inexpensive books, or even the typewriter in their heyday. Tools. Use ‘em.
I hear what you say. Technology, especially personal technology, permits constant interaction but requires constant interrupts which tend to diminish the ability to think deeply and for prolonged periods. Does that in itself change the way we think? Hard to say, but I have noticed one curious thing since I retired from business to concentrate on writing fiction; my dreams are much more complex and vivid. It may be a post hoc ergo propter hoc situation, but it does make me wonder.
I don’t know how I ever got by without the internet. The ease of acquiring information is wonderful.
I’ve saved thousands of dollars on repairs and projects by finding instructions on the internet.
Knowledge is power. The internet can really empower people like nothing else ever has.
I don't own one. Hate cell phones in general.
They are more revealing of your behavior than the Facebook (yuck).
Turn off that computer and read my BOOK!!!
Yep it has. But they are working on that, it is called "net neutrality", which is doublespeak for propaganda.
You got that, didn’t you.
Stop now before you have a smart phone and a tablet. It’s killing me, but I think I enjoy it.
To me this does not come off as typical liberal agenda, at least at this point.
My take is the guy has legit concerns and his theory does make sense to me. I do agree with him that things like google can be a double edged sword. If all you have to do when a problem or question comes up is simply type it into google I can see where eventually the brain starts losing the ability to think things through and solve intricate problems.
Lets say you never had any traditional math education and all you ever did for math problems is key the numbers into a calculator. Would you really understand math? What would you do when the calculator batteries are dead? On the other hand if you have taken the time to learn mathmatical theory and analysis the calculator can actually enhance your ablility.
Google and the internet may be the same as the calculator.
He also makes a good point in that things like google lead us to the same sources and thus the same conclusions whether they are correct or not. If “everyone” starts googling instead of thinking who’s to say what was googled is correct? Maybe the person that wrote the wiki article was some dillweed that had no clue what he was talking about. This has the effect of dumbing down our whole society.
I can just about guarantee that 500 years ago - when the printing press was invented - that many of the elite said just about the same thing: The rabble would now be exposed to all sorts of useless stuff, might get the wrong idea about how things should be run, and would no longer focus on doing what they're told to do by their betters.
Waiting for it to come to Kindle before reading. : )
I agree with you completely — so therefore, you make the most sense of all the commenters thus far.
That’s why I seriously would ban all computers from the classroom. The purpose of education should be to teach you how to think, and not just shove a bunch of facts into your head.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.