Technology is the New 6th Sense

A normal human being contains five senses; touch, smell, sound, taste, and sight. But in today’s era a sixth sense can be added, the sense of technological ability. Though the original five senses come naturally to humans, the sixth one is acquired. But it is being acquired at a young age. From birth babies are learning from their baby apps on their iPad and now fathers seek computer aid from their adolescent son who knows what wrong with the computer just by clicking the mouse once. The twenty first century is a time where operating complex technologies at young age are a norm. Nicholas Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” suggests how the technology, especially the Internet, is detrimental to society and to the human mind. Oliver Sack’s “The Mind Eye’s” is about how the brain adapts and changes when it loses one of its senses, in particular the sense of sight. In Sack’s writing, he concludes that the powers of other senses are increased when one sense is lost. The consequence of having an acquired sixth sense is that it takes away from our other senses. Therefore when the argument that Sack’s writing is providing an antidote to Carr’s claim is made, it is important to know that the statement is not accurate. In fact, it is the complete opposite because on problem causes many more.

Using common logic, it is easy to understand that doing three tasks is a lot harder than doing two tasks at once. So it is safe to assume that the more senses and dimensions the brain has to handle, the more stressed the brain gets and the brain does not work at max efficiency. The brain is powerful organic computer that analyzes five senses and computes them a matter of seconds. Through that computation we get a feel for our surroundings, emotions, ...

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...know how to use it have adapted a new sense of technological understanding. People in today’s generation have the ability to pick up on the latest gadgets at an alarming young age. Because our minds have become so fixated on various types of screens, our allocation of brainpower is being distorted. The brain does not pose the capacity to perform at max efficiency with an added sense. If Sacks research suggest that the brain adapts and four other senses become more powerful after one sense is loss, than it is not possible for the brain to perform at normal capacity if another sense is added. Our brainpower allocation is spread too thin. Carr exemplifies how the added technology lowers human intelligence through various examples. It clear to say that the research and findings of Sacks “The Mind’s Eye” does not provide a solution to Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”