Essay 3- Summary Final Draft.

The article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, by Nicholas Carr, reveals an alarming change in the way our minds work in the age of the internet. Carr presents plenty of evidence suggesting that the immediacy and efficiency of the internet could actually be conditioning our learnt behavior. Carr introduces numerous quotes from experts that give compelling reasons why relying on search engines could hamper our thinking capacity and limit our minds to a fixed and robotic process.

I have never seen the 1968 film, “2001: Space Odyssey”, which Carr uses as an analogy. Yet, I can easily relate to when he says that he feels like someone or something has taking over his mind when he is using the internet. Frequently, I feel my own mind is hi-jacked by pop-up advertisements when I open a web browser. My eyes seem to automatically stare at pop-up ads, especially if they feature fashionable products.

Researching any topic is now easier and less time consuming with the internet. I agree with Carr when he says, “the web has been a godsend to me as a writer”. Carr and I both like using the web when we’re conducting research for a paper. As he says, “the advantages of having immediate access to such an incredibly rich store of information are many”. The internet certainly helps me save a lot of time. Unlike Carr, I do not enjoy reading for pleasure. I usually avoid reading at all costs. So, I value the quick access to information that the internet provides. Until reading this article by Carr, I never really considered how the web could be hindering my intellectual development.

In a key section of the article, Carr describes work done by Maryanne Wolf, a developmental psychologist from Tufts University. Her work suggests that depending solely on the internet to gain knowledge can actually weaken our ability to stay engaged for long periods of time to develop critical areas of intelligence.

Now, Carr’s article has me thinking about the 2009 movie “Surrogates” directed by Jonathan Mostow. In the film, humans hibernate at home while living their lives vicariously through robot surrogates. The robots in this movie play a similar role to the computers Carr describes in the article – they solve daily challenges for humans.

Relying solely on the web for instant access to information in lieu of focusing and absorbing information over a period of time could be affecting more than just our ability to sustain prolonged concentration. It is likely dampening our cognitive skill development. We need to develop concentrated thought processes to tackle complex topics. If we don’t, we might become even more dependent on computers and technologies, not only for accessing information, but to think for us altogether.