Is Computers Making USarter Argument

Computers Are Making Us Smarter: Comparison of Two Arguments Over the past few years technology has changed society tremendously. Many people around the globe have let technology become a part of life rather than just a luxury. In his July/August 2008 Atlantic essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr, author of books on technology and culture, argues that the internet has affected and changed human capacity for concentration and contemplation. Clive Thompson, award winning freelance, journalist, blogger and writer on culture and technology, in his 2013 essay “How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for the Better” adapted from his book Smarter than You Think, argues that as technology gets smarter so do humans by collaborating together.

Carr cites historical events and authorities to support his argument but Thompson does not go into detail on that topic instead he provides chess as an example of how humans and computers collaboration can expand the human brain intellect demonstrating how “before computers, it was extremely rare for teenagers to become grand masters” but now there are “more and more young players that become grand masters” (359). He frames his essay with anecdotes and grand master facts on human and mechanical intelligence; on the other hand, Carr structures his essay with anecdotes and research stating that the use of “artificial” intelligence decreases the mind’s own abilities. While Carr utilizes personal experience to prove technology has negative effects on perception, Thompson uses the case study about chess as an example of how digital objects have a positive impact on mental development. Both writers acknowledge their positions effectively, yet Carr weakens his own refutal by extensively praising the internet while attempting to berate it. In the time being, Thompson acknowledges that people can get distracted while surfing the Web, but he rebuts immediately establishing that the internet tools do not degrade human