Is Google Making Us Stupid?

After seeing the title of the article, it is pure instinct to assume it is strictly about the Google web site. You’d think it would be telling you that somehow, by looking up everything you need, it makes you stupid. But that idea is wrong because the article goes bigger than just Google. In actuality, the article is about technology overall. It tells of how it’s a cycle when new technology is brought about, it decreases our intelligence. When reading this article, it is easy to be persuaded to think as the author, Nicholas Carr, does.
In the article, he presents logical points to prove how Google is in fact making us stupid. Some things he points out are poor reading skills and declining writing skills, which ultimately establishes laziness. Carr looks at what exactly, not only Google, but the computer’s resources may intend for good but in actuality, harms us. By doing this, you can see how simple it is to literally drain our minds.The main idea that Nicholas is trying to get across is that the technology today weakens our mind. He gets this message across by using instances from past technology and its moving forward. For example, Friedrich Nietzsche purchased a typewriter in 1882. He became dependant on it to type because his vision was becoming worse than it already had been. Because our brains are easily transformed, his mind began to rely on the machine rather than his own intelligence. Since this happened in the past, the author is implying that it should be no surprise that it’s happening now and we should actually be more aware of it.It’s intriguing to see Carr not only use modern day people for this analysis, but professors and scholars too. He gives blogs from Scott Karp who talks about not only being a phenomenal reader, but also literature major in college. Now he doesn’t even read books because Scott would rather just go on the internet. Another blog given by teacher, Bruce Friedman, speaks on him no longer being able to hold the substance of what he’s reading. Because they have relied on the internet, their minds no longer feel the need to go that extra mile. Soon the mind remains that way but is hard to go back once it’s gone so far.I think what really struck my attention was that Google uses an artificial intelligence. Previously knowing this, it makes me wonder why we still tend to use the site for pretty much anything. It’s as if we think nothing of a word right in front of us, artificial, means nothing. That in itself should spark our minds and make us realize something “not real” will be temporarily taking the place of our own intelligence. If chief executive, Eric Schmidt, can be smart enough to create so many things on one site used by so many people, we should be able to use just as much in our own lives. In conclusion, Nicholas Carr accomplished just what he intended to in writing this article. I am completely persuaded to believe that the internet, including sites like Google, take our minds nowhere and actually make them stagnant. We end up depending on them even for the simple things. Technology weakens our mind and allows us to establish a lazy mentality. If we would just take a minute to think and not just let technology immobilize ourselvess, we could actually get somewhere rather than be stuck.