What did we do years ago before the Internet became popular? How did we get the information for a project or research paper? What about just wanting to resolve our curiosity on a particular subject? What did we rely on? Yes I agree, the library, encyclopedias. Back when I a was a kid, before my brain was flooded with countless information from the Internet, I can remember spending hours at a time reading encyclopedias about species of snakes that I heard about on television. It was fascinating to me at the time that information on nearly every specie of snake that I was looking for can be found in the encyclopedia. But I wanted to know more then the encyclopedia was able to provide. So I began going to the library and checking out books that had more specific information on these charming snakes. I just wanted to know all that there was to know. Then Google entered my life and made this possible.
All it took was a few keywords, “Red-tail Boa Constrictor ”, and a click of the search button. I was immediately overwhelmed by massive amounts of links. So I began clicking on links after links, each time discovering something new, something I wouldn't find in a normal book at the library- images, videos, care information, every detail that there was to know. Practically everything that I would want to know about a particular subject can be found on websites through the Internet. Google is just a tool that's helps us find those websites. It is like a gigantic advanced library.
In the article titled Is Google Making us Stupid, Carr describes how the Internet has changed the way he takes in information, “a swiftly moving stream of particles”. He interprets this as the way he now reads, no longer being able to read long lines of text- skimming or “surfing” for information. But that's what the Internet is for right? Finding information. Researching. So who's fault is it if we get distracted and start to stumble on to other links? Google's? Is Google actually making us stupid? I thought Google's search engine was a way of finding information, so how can that make us stupid? Google in my opinion is like a tool, helping us to accomplish specific tasks.
Carr states, “the more links we click and pages we view—the more opportunities Google and other companies gain to collect information about us and to feed us advertisements.” “The last thing these companies want is to encourage leisurely reading or slow, concentrated thought.” It seems that Carr interprets Google advertising as a bad thing, but is it really? I mean how else is Google going to make money and keep its business from crashing? I would be crushed if that ever happened. Google is the most useful tool I have. However, I do agree with Carr that Google would not want to encourage slow reading on their site, but maybe Google is not the place for slow reading. I searched the word “Book” in Google and what came up was not surprising. Barnes and Nobles and Amazon, both websites that sell Books. So maybe Google is telling us that if wanted leisurely reading, maybe we should read a Book instead of being on Google.
So to answer the question, “Is Google Making us Stupid”. In my opinion I would have to say no. Like any other tool, Google helps us accomplish specific tasks by finding the information we need. We can not have all the information in the world stored in our brain. It is just not possible. After all, “The human brain is just an outdated computer that needs a faster processor and a bigger hard drive.” Right?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I totally agree with you. Google just helps us receive our information faster and more efficient. Most of the resources that we used to use, such as the library all have online catalogs now that can be obtained through their websites. So instead of going to the library and checking out books, we can just search their catalog online.
Thomas, this is a very well written post, particularly in its organization. You have a definable introduction and conclusion, which is not always simple to do in these short posts in this specific medium. With a few exceptions, your writing is also fairly coherent. As I mentioned in class, please avoid contractions for a formal post, "don't" should be "do not," for example. Also, when you are comparing two things, use "than" and not "then." Finally, your post could have been even stronger if you would have actually linked us to "book" on Google--I found that a compelling example, so it would have been good to take your reader there. Or, you could have compared the different entries for snakes in an on-line format to one in paper--are there any differences? You mention that Google exposes you to many different resources; I assume that is an advantage? If so, how might we organize all the data to which we are exposed?
Post a Comment