Reading Connections #1

I found the article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, to actually be interesting. The article speaks of how, nowadays, just about everything in our daily lives is controlled by computers or other forms of electronics. Mankind has become so dependent on programs such as Google for information about what is happening in the world, relying on them to step in and take the roll and responsibilities that our own brains should be responsible. The article speaks of how people like Nicholas, who used to be an avid reader, slacken in activities that are designed to stimulate the mind due to the influence of technology in today’s world. Friedrich Nietzsche, a man to experience one of the first typewriters, once said “You are right…our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts.” Nietzsche, a writer himself, used the technology to change his writing from “arguments to aphorisms, from thoughts to puns, from rhetoric to telegram style.”Essentially, we take the part of our brain that controls the interactive learning processes from studying books, newspapers, or magazines in real life situations, and turn that energy towards Google and other search engines. Basically they take what used to be physical work in order to learn, and do it for us with just a click of a mouse and a stroke of a keyboard. I know that personally when I was younger I turned more towards books and encyclopedias from a trip to the library to do research. I learned more from having to do the physical work of flipping through the pages to gather the materials and process the information. My mind had to take responsibility because it had to take in the information and store it away because a book wouldn’t always be right in front of me for easy access. Now, with the influence of technology and the ability to sit at a computer and pull up the internet browser and just keyword search engines such as Google or Metacrawler to pull up the articles and process the information for me. With a click of a mouse I can save and store the information on the desktop with out any physical work from me. This takes the responsibility to process and remember from my mind because the computer works as a mind. In a way, the internet and electronics have made mankind, and our brains lazy. Most things can be done for us. Where is the line drawn between our own responsibilities and our own laziness?Another article I found that discusses similar subjects was, “Institute studies technology, society-Technology gives advances but also negative effects,” written by the Stanford Daily Newspaper. The article discusses how electronics, such as cell phones become more than just an instrument for our personal use, they become our life source. Electronics become the “reins turned into chains.”Chui, Anthony. “Institute studies technology, society-Technology gives advances but also negative effects.” 19 January 99. http://daily.stanford.edu/article/1999/1/19/instituteStudiesTechnologySocietyTechnologyGivesAdvancesButAlsoNegativeEffectsSaysNie.com