The 20th century has witnessed a technological revolution; technology has changed our society, shaped our thoughts and social life. Some people believe that technology is destructive to our minds and makes people lazy thinkers. In his article “Smarter than you think”, Clive Thompson agrees that technology has changed our minds but for the better because it provides humans with many information and resources to enhance their cognitive learning. The world should embrace technology and not fear the changes.
The society raises the question of who’s smarter? Computers or humans.Thomas states that “Neither. It’s the two together, working side by side”(347).Human brain and computers have different strengths, the society can achieve a better outcome by collaborating the two powers. The chess players advancement in chess competitions is a great example given by Thompson.However, the fear of change and of the unfamiliar is holding us back from admiring the benefits of technology, Throughout history, humankind has shown concerns about every invention “we panic¬—then quickly set about deducing how they can be used to help us work, meditate and create”( Thomspon 353).Furthermore, The technological revolution drives us toward a new form of behavior and future.
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It makes the acquisition of much information instantly and easily, which sequentially has made us smarter.However, many argue that we rely more on the internet, which will weaken our brain and make us lazy thinker. Thompson clarifies that technology is a tool to advance our cognitive and it is the individual who chooses the use of either a book it the internet, and it is better to balance between the two “One of the great challenges of today's digital thinking tools is knowing when not to use them, when to rely on the powers of older and slower technologies, like paper and books"(Thompson
People all around agree that technology is changing how we think, but is it changing us for the better? Clive Thompson definitely thinks so and this book is his collection of why that is. As an avid fiction reader I wasn’t sure this book would captivate me, but the 352 pages seemingly flew past me. The book is a whirlwind of interesting ideas, captivating people, and fascinating thoughts on how technology is changing how we work and think.
... access to it from various forms of media. Instead of demolishing our ability to read and learn, the internet aids us by giving us rapid information that would otherwise take days of research through books to attain. Therefore, the internet should not be viewed as the cause for our lack of intelligence, but rather the reason for our vast knowledge. Technology has revolutionized our learning and will continue to serve as the prime tool in our education.
We live in a time where technology is at the center of our society. We use technology on a daily basis, for the simplest tasks, or to aid us in our jobs, and don’t give a second thought to whether these tools are actually helping us. Writers such as Kevin Kelly and Clive Thompson argue that the use of technology actually helps us humans; whiles writers such as Nicholas Carr argue that technology affects people’s abilities to learn information negatively.
Carr starts off his argument by referencing a “2001 a space odyssey” released in 1968 about a computer named HAL that tries to kill the astronauts that are on the spaceship that HAL controls. Carr uses an excerpt from this movie to incite fear into his readers and fear clouds judgement and causes irrational ideas to be formed. This movie is an over exaggerated sci-fi thriller and not a realistic representation of what computers are becoming. At the conclusion of his argument Carr does not forget to leave his readers the way he greeted them, Carr quotes 2001: a space odyssey “i can feel it. I’m afraid” (Carr 328). Although emotions are a strong way to engage with a reader, strong emotions also distract readers from the actual argument and encourage the reader to make a decision based on their feeling rather than their actual brain. The fact that Carr uses emotion to convince his readers is quite ironic, considering he is arguing that new technology is limiting our ability to use our brains. In contrast Thompson’s article uses logic and reason to make his argument. At the same time Thompson’s article still engages readers and is just as interesting to read as Carr’s essay. Thompson’s article starts off pondering whether computers or humans are better at chess. To answer this
From communicating with one another to researching for an essay, these high-tech gadgets are constantly being used. Unfortunately this is slowly becoming a danger to the human mind and an individual's ability to carry out simple tasks. This can be shown through the examples in Carr’s novel. He states multiple times that technology is damaging the brain and is struggling to do the simple tasks it should be able to do. Through his multiple examples, it is clear that technology is hurting us because we can no longer contemplate, concentrate, remember certain details, and more. Although, we cannot avoid using technology, we should be mindful of how often we use
The SMART planning model is a universal outline of actionable steps used to set up goals that create a forward
Humans are becoming more technologically-efficient every day. New inventions and innovations are constantly being made. The Internet is becoming more “reliable” every day. However, how much do we really get from the constant advancement of Internet use and smarter technology? Should we look at their contributions to the world as a benefactor or a curse? The common effect of “artificial intelligence” in the technology we use every day is examined by two brilliant authors, Nicholas Carr and Jamias Cascio. In Carr’s article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, he explains the effects of the Internet and technology in our society and claims that the overuse of technology is dangerous and can affect how our mind operates. Jamias Cascio, on the other hand, uses his article “Get Smarter” to show the positive effects of technology in our constantly adaptive society claims that technology may just be making our society smarter and more efficient. While Carr and Cascio both use the claim of cause in their articles to provide valid points on how technology affects our society, Carr’s article proves to be more effective because it focuses on skeptical-based evidence and uses a variety of appeals and proofs.
In the article “Smarter than You Think: How Technology is Changing Our Minds for the Better”, the author Clive Thompson wrote “One of the greatest challenges of today’s digital thinking tools is knowing when not to use them, when to rely on the powers of the older and slower technologies, like paper and books.” Thompson believes that digital technologies are bringing about a new era of life and are overall a great advancement for society; however, people also need to understand when technology should not be used (355). For example, young children should not spend their developmental years on electronic devices, but should be outdoors exploring and using their imaginations to
Technology has played a vital role in human progression over the past century, with new advancements like computers, smart phones, and orbiting satellites paving the way for a world more connected than ever before. The ease of accessing knowledge via these devices ensures that individuals can have the world at their fingertips, as any and all questions they may have can be answered in only a matter of seconds. Such a free flow of information requires little mental aptitude to understand and access, and some observers of this relatively new phenomenon are starting to ponder if technology is actually hurting us rather than aiding us. One such
However, Carr and Turkle both agree that technology has done good, but it has come at the cost of our ability to think critically. In the two articles, both authors heavily emphasize the negative effects of computer technology on how it is diminishing human cognition and the ability to process information.
Carr supports his claims by including personal experiences with the Internet of others. Scott Karp who was literature major in college, admitted to Carr that he has stopped reading books altogether (732). Karp now prefers to read everything online. Karp also questions whether the Internet has changed his course of thinking (Carr, 732). Bruce Friedman explained how he barely has the tolerance for reading long pieces, and skimming is now how he reads (Carr, 732). By Carr discussing changes brought by other technologies, he strengthens the support of his claims. He proves that technology does have a way of affecting us cognitively whether the effect is negative or positive. Carr also proves that as technology advances our mind is modified to according to those advances. “As we use what the sociologist Daniel Bell has called our “intellectual technologies”—the tools that extend our mental rather than our physical capacities—we inevitably begin to take on the qualities of those technologies” (Carr, 737).
“With every new innovation, cultural prophets bickered over whether we were facing a technological apocalypse or a utopia” (Thompson 9). This quote states that with every significant break-through with technology, people contemplate whether it will have a positive or negative effect on mankind. Technology allows for external memory sources, connections to databases, and it allow easy communication between people. Thompson then directly counters Carr’s hypothesis and states that “[c]ertainly, if we are intellectually lazy or prone to cheating and shortcuts, or if we simply don’t pay much attention to how our tools affect the way we work, then yes - we become… over reliant” (Thompson 18). In his opinion, “[s]o yes, when we’re augmenting ourselves, we can be smarter… But our digital tools can also leave us smarter even when we’re not actively using them” (Thompson
Albert Einstein once said, “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” Technology is a controversial topic, some say we are depending in excess from gadgets and devices. However, if it wasn’t for technology we wouldn’t be able to experience many benefits.
21st century, we live in the era of technology-driven world. Human never stopped the development of technology, because we always have a natural tendency to pursue a higher level of human being. Technology is the best evidence of human intelligence, has shown that we are different from other animals. We live with technology since we born. Although it has intervene our daily life heavily that we can’t no longer live without, nobody can deny the achievements it has brought to us.
In today’s world science and technology has made human life difficult just because of its new inventions. Everyday many new technologies are been added to the list. People get addicted and they don’t know what they are giving up in return. However, these technologies are taking away the human’s ability to think quantitively. Defining human in today’s world means substituting technology for work and thinking that humans used to do. For instance, the ability to count, the memory to remember, the ability to learn through classrooms, and the ability to do things by hand.