This article was very straight forward and easy to understand. I found it interesting how brain researchers discovered that the "adult mind is very plastic". It's cool to think how the brain can alter how it works even after we are fully done growing.
I do not believe that Google is making us stupid. In fact, I think being able to find the answer to a question with a quick typing of words and an enter button makes kids able to obtain more information they want to know about faster. People have just learned how to find the information they are looking for without reading all the useless things they don't need to know. It seems like people are so busy all the time and having something like Google allows us to find the needed information and save valuable time. I also do not agree with the assumption that "we'd be better off if our brains were supplemented, or even replaced, by an artificial intelligence". I think we are better off the way we are now, not knowing everything and being able to think in abstract ways.
I do agree with Nicholas Carr that "deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle". It seems like when I was younger I used to enjoy reading and used to be able to sit there and read a book. Now it's a lot harder for me to concentrate on reading longer books and for longer periods of time.
So is Google making us stupid? Not necessarily. It's just changed how we receive the information we are actually interested in knowing.
I thought everything you had to say about this article was worded wonderfully! You made some really good connections to the reading, that I agreed with completely! haha! The only thing is that I feel that because google gives us such quick answers, do we really take them in? I mean sometimes we will actually get the answer and then always remember it, but sometimes I feel that when we recieve the information so quickly we don't really think about the answer we just got.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it's amazing how the brain is constantly changing. I definitely agree that we are much better off without artificial intelligence. You're right, the abstract thinking is overall a much greater advantage.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, that Google is a very useful tool in this busy world and that does have it's merits, but I believe it does change our brain. I also think some of that useless information may one day be useful to us, or it could even just provide a deeper understanding of the issue. But I agree, sometimes you just want to know the answer quickly to save time and I think you made a good point about that.