Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Written by Nicholas Carr, this article focuses on the controversial question of whether the Internet is dumbing down the minds of people in the world today. Most people are overjoyed by the opportunities the Internet has presented and the efficiency it offers the user; however there are some skeptics that argue that it has shortened the attention span and shallowed the thinking capacity that people are capable of. The article presents multiple examples of this and I don't at all disagree with this idea; there is scientific evidence as well as people just noticing that the Internet is changing the kind of thinking we do and are capable of. So I believe that the real question is whether the affects that the Internet is having on people and our society are all bad. Yes it sounds bad that the Internet seems to be taking away from a person's skill to think deeply and interpret the text we read, but I feel like it's merely a shift in the times. The article gives many examples, some as far back as the earliest and brightest Greek philosiphers, of how certain behaviors or technoligies have come to replace the current and accepted method thinking or doing things. At the time there is all this controversy on how the new invention is going to negatively impact society and the human race, but looking back on these things, they helped advance and improve life as those people knew it. The idea of publishing a person's thoughts into print, the printing press, the televison, and the internet all were and are criticized to some extent due to some of their effects on the world, but they were all stepping stones to create the society we have today. All of those things contributed to the advancement in research and communication, which are two very crucial things in the basis and functioning of any society. When something comes along to alter or change the current method of something, people are going to be a little weirded out at first and maybe not open-minded about what this invention could do to benefit their lives. The Internet is merely a change to adapt to our current society and help us to function better within it. All of the inventions comparable to the internet in the past did had the same intention. Some qualities valued by people in society have some standard throughout time, whether it's 200 years ago or 50 years ago, but others change and adapt depending on the day and age. So even though a person being capable of deep thinking may have been a critical value in previous years, if we have something to do that for us or at least assist us, we should utilize it. Inventions like the Internet help advance the world we live in and spark change and new ideas.