Is Google Making USupid By Nicholas Carr

In Nicholas Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid” Carr argues that the creation of the internet has not only made our lives easier by creating a wealth of information available in mere seconds but has consequently made our thought process much slower as a result. Carr does not have any scientific proof that the internet is making us slower rather he is forced to compare experiences of his past and the experience of other writers. Carr states that the internet was a godsend to him as a writer as it turned days of research into minutes. However he also seems to have lost his ability of concentration and contemplation. Carr was able to make this note when he began to try to take in information through other sources besides the internet. This included not being able to immerse himself in longish readings.

Although the internet is a source full of fast information, it does not allow our brains times to process information. It takes a few clicks and a few keyboard strokes in order to obtain thousands of sources relating to one topic. It would take lifetimes to read these source by anyone person so what is it that the majority of people do? They skim the pages looking for any information that may help answer their question as quickly as possible. Often this means not reading the full article and therefore means that people are not absorbing the information and thereby not using it to fuel their critical thinking. In my personal experience and the experiences of my friends who are college students. It is sometimes easier to Google the answer of something rather than reading a chapter in a text book. The effects of this produce an immediate result allowing you to answer a question but it limits your ability to fully understand the material and to put in a larger context. Often the larger context that is asked on exams and more importantly the field in which one is trying to obtain one’s