Is Google Making USupid

Humans have been creating tools that allow us to be do things that would be otherwise impossible since the beginning of our existence. The ability to use and develop new tools is what sets us apart from all other animals. Yet it seems that ever since these tools started being created there were also people that feared these new tools and claimed that they are bad for the human race. The present fear of new technology is illustrated in the essay “Is Google Making us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr. In this essay Carr argues that the internet and other new technologies are changing the way we think in a negative way. Carr claims that new technology is making our generation stupid. In opposition the article “Smarter Than You Think” by Clive Thompson

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

First Carr tells us about Friedrich Nietzsche, “His vision was failing, and keeping his eyes focused on a page had become exhausting and painful...The typewriter rescued him.” (Carr 318). Carr claims that the typewriter changed his writing style, but having a slightly different style does not take away from the fact that Nietzsche can still put his ideas onto paper. If Nietzsche had not bought the typewriter then he would not be able to write anymore, so clearly any small downside of the typewriter is outweighed by the the typewriter allowing Nietzsche to continue writing. Carr also claims at one point that the internet uses “a style that puts ‘efficiency’ and ‘immediacy’ above all else” (Carr 317). Carr argues that the efficiency and immediacy of the internet limits our ability for deep reading. Thompson claims that “Every new tool shapes the way we think, as well as what we think about” (Thompson 348). Every tool humans have ever created has shaped our brains, so we should not be scared that the internet is changing the way that we think. Especially considering it is causing us to think and learn more