Eric Carr makes the argument that the internet has changed the way we access and internalize information. In essence, by reducing reflective, open-time with texts, the long, deep reading that produces independent, critical thinking and free association is now gone as we are reduced to mere "decoders of information"hopping from link to link, using search engine results as our guides and algorithms as our strategies.
In your own opinion, describe our (human) relation to computers. Moreover, has the computer augmented or stifled our senses ? Finally, how do you predict we will use the computer in the future–what type of culture will emerge from this relationship ?
Post your responses here.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
21 comments:
I already wrote a response to the article in my blog... copying and pasting that here...
I am glad to have read the "Is google making us stupid?" article. The article gave me some insight into my own dealings with literature, because as a reader I have experienced some of the inability to concentrate and mind wandering Nicholas Carr writes about. I thought I had ADD, but actually the connection between internet distractions and concentration distractions began to make sense in that article.
While reading the article I thought about some of the artwork I've enjoyed over the last few years, and a lot of the art used today is very dynamic. I believe that is because artists have to work overtime to grab and hold a person's attention because our minds are over-stimulated while we surf the net that something needs to be incredibly attractive to interest us.
I cannot say whether I think use of the internet is good or bad for the future of people, but I do believe without a doubt that it has forever changed the way people work, play, and think. As the article explained, the expansions in technology in the past have worked towards progression. However, we may have already reached the brink of technological expansion and are now digging a hole for ourselves.
In my opinion, people, especially Americans, want everything to be bigger, better, and faster. Skyscrapers, lamborghini's, and the best movie graphics available. Our world has grown, quite literally and everyday people have ideas to go further. With the internet, information from humans may no longer be needed or wanted. If you wanted to know how the shrimp scampi at Liberatore's is you might find someone to ask who has been there and hope that they indeed ordered the shrimp scampi and that they have a review of it for you. Or, you could easily navigate to buzzd.com and find reviews from people who have been there and can tell you what is a tasty dish. Or better yet, go to Liberatores' website and look at pictures of the shrimp scampi all in a of couple clicks.
I think the internet is revolutionary. It's exciting and remarkably useful. However, I worry about interactions between humans and human wisdom slowly dwindling away. We no longer need to discuss life with eachother when we can do it over the internet. Even half of this class is completed without any human interaction. I don't even want to try and fathom artificial intelligence because it scares me. That could mean there might literally be no purpose for humans at all. I enjoy the internet and hope it can serve information to us without causing a drop in brain capacity. But, I do fear that I may not be able to keep up especially with trying to be a designer.
I noticed a few points i wanted to make a bit more clear...i just this directly from my blog.
"I may be Paranoid, but no android"
A response to "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" or an opinion anyway.
Initially i read this and thought, this is profound in many ways. What a discussion piece. I want to know more. So.. i googled Nicholas Carr, to get more information.. Funny, right?
The term "wired", to describe those who are connected to the Internet, seems a bit light at this point. We are downright intravenously tethered to all forms and facets of the web, and its very threads bind us all. We are a generation of human devices. So many of our human relationships rely on the availability our internet connectivity.
As I am reading this article and my computer has made no less than 3 suggestions to me. "Update Itunes to version 8.2?"..It's hardly a question. "Safari 4 update, now please." "Windows update or I promise future repercussions.. Scan me or succumb to a horrible virus death..critical system error..thank you." HAL, no. Distraction, yes. My computer looking out for my best interest is hardly "I, Robot" here.
I respect how he points out throughout time, the great minds and tools they both dismissed as downfalls of modern man and cherished as enlightened human achievement. His view on Google however, was a bit grim. A lot of heavy smoke over little a search engine. But then again, it isnt so little. I mean you can Google just about anything. Literally. Instantaneous results. Surprisingly reliable. It refines your own searches. The librarian in a limitless library.
However when the article begins to detail Google's interest in next generation Artificial Intelligence, and the quarry of knowledge available if you were directly linked to a new age system, one cant help but conjure all those visions of chaos in science fiction. Sky NET, HAL, The Matrix. Could this be a 20th century cyber-nightmare in it's conception? If Carr is a worrywart, I'm a feverish hypochondriac. The Googleplex. Images of the Tower of Babel flood my head. John Conner on a cyber-war torn future scape, hellbent on the salvation of humanity over machines. Art imitating life, of life imitating art. Maybe just slightly alarmist.
When Carr mentions himself the nostalgist, I think to myself "could that be me?" Well, hardly. I find my weather on my ipod every morning, and well as my current CNN news. Email..check. Stocks..check. Hell, a Carb Counter..we have an app for that. So, perpetual nostalgist, hardly. Distracted, maybe. I find myself re-reading pages of books when i cant acquire the "information" I feel I need. I re-read 10 pages of Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian" so many times, I left the book for some time. He literally painted so much detail over the storyline, i was frustrated at the prose and lavish description, I just wanted the bones. Because i couldn't find the plot line in a headline. Oh, Where is my mind? Point, click. Instant. Just like the board room coffee. Isnt it fitting for our "fast, now and alot of it culture"?
As far as what type of new culture will emerge in the future from all this, who can be sure. We are already a culture of advertisement and entertainment. Maybe just more quick, and to the throat. I don't think all this information makes us stupid, I think its on the contrary. But I do fear all this ease of access. Sometimes it seems like we have all this readily available open communication, and no one has anything important to say. Hopefully, that's what will emerge in the future. Open discussion, understanding, a bit of civility. I can only hope that as we stray further into the digital universe we don't loose the self realization. In a place of avatars and profiles, who are we truly? Identity is a leisure. But hey, let's not shit ourselves. We can barely ask ourselves as people, who deserves to be healthy. Maybe Google has the answer, I'm feeling lucky.
This article, "Is Google Making Us Stupid", show great points about how computers in movies seem to take on human roles, and how everyone even your grandparents relay on the intent for answering questions or keeping up with the news. Personally I feel that the Intent, Google, is only making us smarter because Google is a search engine that provides anyone with an answer that they need. Therefore, "Is Google Making Us Stupid" is an nice article to start with this class, but Google or the intent is not making citizens stupid.
Computers in the movies seem to becoming just like the computers that is out on the market today. One thing that I believe will never happen is that computers will be able to take on TRUE human emotions. Why? Humans them self can not explain their own emotions.
The intent may take over the reading world because people will read a free article on the intent but do not want to pay for a book copy. Also, the book system was an amazing system in the past but humans more into the future not remain in the past. Books will stay important for government or LAW but the intent will slowly...no quickly become the new reading source for all ages.
Just because people are spending hours in front of a computer screen doesn't mean they are not learning about life or about any other type of topics. In essence, Google might control the media online but these sources online will not lead people to become stupid; unless you lose control over your own thoughts.
Humans use computers to make their lives easier. We can use the internet to find out what is happening in places all over the world.
I don't think computers will change our culture any more than they already have.
In response to aquasammi's statement that "Even half of this class is completed without any human interaction," I want to say meeting face to face is not a prerequisite for human interaction.
In my opinion, to those who have encountered computers have become the necessary part of everyday life! Furthermore, the digital age has ushered in such a plethora of information that we are bombarded with moment by moment; this serves as enlightenment to some and a grave distraction to others.
As a home- schooling mother, student, business owner and very social being it has come to be a necessity in most all areas of my daily life.
I am not sure what the future holds for the computer but I do have a list of things I hope it does not dictate as far as personal freedom and privacy goes.
After reading the article, I believe that google is not making us stupid but it is that some are living there lives on the internet. In a sense that they are losing themselves to the internet. Yes the internet is the new hotness lol but no one is telling anyone to embody themselves into it. I think some are just losing there since of reality. I believe computers/technology are becoming more and more apart of are lives. Soon we mave not even need to leave are homes to do anything. I think the computer has stifled our senses. If more and more things become technologically intergraded then i think we are going to lose touch with alot of things. I think the computer being the desktop/laptop will be no more. You will b able to surf the net by way of mind. Everyone in the future will be unhealthy, lazy, and stupid.
I wrote about this on my own blog. I am a girl who loves both the internet and sitting down with a book in my hand, so I to a point think that the article is wrong.
I am perfectly content to spend an afternoon wandering around Barnes&Nobles, or sitting at home on facebook, or reading online stories. I will say that the internet makes things easier. Yes I use google as a spell check sometimes, yes I use it for all my research papers, but I will also explore a Library for hours on end, and I was very upset when I found out you cannot get into the Library of Congress without a special day pass.
I am more worried about the children who are younger then us, who are being introduced to computers as the answers to their prayers, and school problems. They will feel like they never need to crack open a book and soon books will be seen by them as something evil long and stupid.
Honestly I think that this is also personal, some people hate books and love the internet and nothing will change that. I think as long as we continue to have books and the internet go hand in had everything can be okay.
I believe we are using the computer a little bit more then we should be, and even I have been on the computer ... for more then 10 hours a day ... not really doing anything progressive. I do think the computer should be used as a source of information, communication, gaming and other random things but some people take computers too far. For example, sexual predators, hackers, government looking into our private lives and many others. sure 6-8 hours of gaming is not that great but I believe it is alright... But when a hard-core gamer does 20-30 hours just staying up and constantly doing "Instances" on WoW, or trying to get to that next level on CoD4 then it gets a little bad. Humans should take a rest walk around and exercise, go outside or something, I personally hate going outside because I dislike the sun. I also think that computers will somehow take over most of our lives, and I really hope that this doesn't affect Americas' Obesity problem too much.
I want to first point out the obvious irony of this article: Nick Carr plainly states that he "... can't read War and Peace anymore... I've lost the ability to do that. Even a blog post of more than three or four paragraphs is too much to absorb. I skim it." Yet, he writes a lengthy article to of which he must have edited himself, thus showing his capability of reading, comprehending, and following a subject he actually finds intellectually stimulating.
When I read his simple metaphor: "Once I was a scuba diver in sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski" very appropriate to the subject matter. I like this metaphor for two reasons. One: I find this visual representation of his literary history very easy to understand. Two: It justifies a lot of peoples' relationships with the Internet and how easy it is to use or obtain any and all information.
Also, while reading this, I can't help but think about the fact of Americans and the concept of "instant gratification." The Internet is a huge supplier of instant gratification and people find that very appealing. Instant being fast and the Internet having results in 0.12 seconds, according to google.com and searching for information regarding "typos."
"It almost seems they go online to avoid reading in a traditional sense."
Spark notes: exhibit A.
I really enjoyed reading this article. I become another statistic dealing with the subject of reading and it not being one of my strong suits, let alone, one of my favorite hobbies. I am a lot of those people that psychologists and researchers point out. I skim everything, if I can, "mumble reading," only saying a recognizable word every 30 words or so, as I speed through the media.
When I was little and we had the standardized testing in elementary school, I always scored the lowest on the reading comprehension portions, despite the math portions, but that is a whole other battle. Furthermore, I was "diagnosed?" with ADD in, comically enough, my second attempt at fourth grade. I can definitely, without a doubt, see eye to eye with Nick Carr and understand completely why he cannot read War and Peace anymore. It's so clear. I mean, according to Ms. Wolf, my neural circuits really must work hard to translate symbolic characters found in books, etc.
I believe, according to this article and my own personal struggle with other types of learning, a large part of the population are visual learners. (I am a visual learner.) Books and lengthy articles, etc. require our minds to go places that require us to use our imagination, but sometimes, we can't get our brain to go to those places because the stimulation is so weak and "boring." I can read a whole chapter, but not comprehend any of it because I was thinking about that time I ate food off another person's table at that sushi restaurant. That is the story of my life. Therefore, instead, I skim and give my brain no room or chance to think about anything else, because it knows that I will be done the "torture" in a matter of seconds or minutes, as opposed to a lot of minutes or hours.
And like the article states, in one way or another, I don't believe Google is making us stupid, but how much individuals depend on Google and how they utilize their "Internet paths" is not as bright, I don't want to say stupid because there are many things in this world that are worth being labeled stupid.
Yessireee it sure is. Reason being is now days all you have to do is type a few words followed by a question mark and there you have your answer. I am a big advocate of google. Not that I'm lazy but for the fact that it is a convince.
I think that google has helped our culture to explore new horizons. Some people think that computers make you stupid but I think that they help us to learn more than we ever could before. Computers also help us to be more time efficient. Instead of spending ours in the library sifting through endless amounts in books. You can go to a search engine type in something and there it is. I do believe that some people abuse the internet but i do not think google is making us stupid.
Our relation to computers has definitely evolved over the years. Progression through invention is what has made it possible for humans to get closer and more involved with computers.
When the computer was first invented, there was not much room for your everyday Joe to get acquainted with such a machine. You'd almost need a degree to even possibly begin to tinker with it. It was an unattractive technology. Once it started to become more commercial and accessible to the public when begin to see the countless possibilities.
Websites like youtube, myspace, and facebook are what really enlighten the world for even further interaction. By recreating our world in this virtual world we begin to delve deeper and deeper into this virtual reality which we have so sought to achieve.
To have the world at your fingertips is a fascinating concept which allows us all to journey through countless facets of information. How could one not be attracted to such an available source of knowledge. Humans have always wanted to expand their knowledge, to expand their experiences. With this new frontier, we are given this opportunity to explore more and more, and at the comfort at our own homes.
I would compare surfing the internet as to having an astral projection experience. By that I mean leaving your body behind and exploring the world as an entity, or a soul. This is what it means to be connected with the computer.
Our relationship with the computer is two fold. It's a tool and a vessel for us. We can use it in various fashions, through the wonders of software, and it's a vessel, as an escape from reality. The same when one would go deeply into reading their favorite book. This is no different.
Has the computer stifled our senses? Well, it really depends on who you are and how much you've gone into using the computer as your "vessel". The more one uses the computer as an escape from reality the more one becomes detached from reality itself, thus augmenting our senses. Those cases are slim, and most know when too much is too much, so in general, I'd say no, it's not. But as I digress there are cases where your senses become warped are true. I point to MMO(massive multiplayer online) game addicts as an example. Some people become so engrossed in their game persona, that they become them.
As the future comes, I really can't say what will happen. We're really seeing both sides of what can happen when we make information so readily available. I say we get closer and closer to a world where computers will be absolutely everywhere, but we will learn to keep our humanity, but not without running into the problem of losing your humanity first. One must first encounter the problem to overcome it.
The future holds many questions, and I'm fascinated to find out what will indeed happen.
The "Is google making us stupid?" article was interesting for the first 1/3 of it, then it got too scientifical for my interest. However, this article was insightful. It was insightful because I also have experienced some of what Nicholas Carr writes about in this article about mind wandering and inability to concentrate, depending on the subject the writing is about. If I find the writing boring, then I tend towanderonline more. However, if I find something interesting and enjoyable to read, then I barely wander at all.
I think our relation to computers is more so for people's enjoyment and convience for research. Depending on the person, somebody would use the computer for fun when they have free time or they would use it for research for information they would use. Personally,in my own free time, I use the Internet for fun unless I have homework I have to look the Internet for.
Unfortunately, I do have to agree that the Internet has stifled our senses. Most people now do not even pick up a book for research or even for personal enjoyment anymore.
I predict that we will just keep on using computers more and more as time passes. Furthermore, I am pretty sure that computers will keep on getting more advanced and more portable. When this happens, especially when computers get more portable, I think most people will never be off the computer, since they will have it on them or something like this. This will stifle our senses even more I think.
Okay so I choose to re-read the assigned Carr article...which I incidentally had merely skimmed the first time around via the big MAC computer screen in the lab. But after some contemplation of the material I figured a more serious read might do me some good...get that ole blood pumping to my brain and actually enlighten me to some degree.
My eyes are not what they once were, troublesome thought as a photographer by trade, passion and hobby, so I decided to do an archaic thing...print out the article...I went a step further and read out loud in the hopes that what ever the eye gate does not process perhaps my ear gate would snatch, latch or catch!
Given this personal admission of how I best process information now, is maybe a validation of the opinion of the article writer! We are being affected by the amount of information that is being presented and in an effort to save time and prevent headache stay off boredom we learn to adapt!
I have always been one who had to have a high interest level of the material at hand - just to stay focused and on task or to get the point of a given reading. I have never been one for a long read...although I am a wordy girl. I'm of Native American line descent my mother's side of the family and the saying, "Able to talk the ear off of a wooden Indian" was not only a personally applicable adage but gleaned from a time before political correctness got a foothold in our culture!
~continued~
The point being, I am not alone, much of our western society has been a fast pace race of life...pressures to perform...succumbing to the seduction to succeed at whatever is at hand...with the least extinguished of time or effort. So with responsibilities revving our engines...information must be driven home from so many venues and by different vehicles...whatever will get it there. Multi- tasking has become a way of life and now covering all the bases is more than a sports theme cliche. We do not have time, much less energy to work harder so we are encouraged to work smarter. This mantra must be at the core of all that drives the information age we live in.
So given the question at hand we are becoming not stupid because of GOOGLE...just maybe more time savvy as suckers for convenience. After all maybe we need more time for leisure and more time than not these days an application on Facebook or an experience with some other electronic is the fonder choice. We crave instant gratification and the feedback on game systems gives just that. So needing more time for the things that own us...can be a double edged sword...we have addictive applications we peck out in a sedentary stint when we could be working out or maybe playing sports in real time and in first person!
As far as information dependence goes...certainly not all we learn on line is reliable. There so many people sources...all ages some with much less expertise than others, various educational levels, backgrounds, crops of mental disorders, decadent deviants and warped wheeler-dealers just trying to get a certain number of hits on their page or purchase via their ad. Business drives the Beast!
Because it comes to us so instantaneous we can toss it away quickly and exchange it for some tidbit of information that is just easier to swallow. Email alone is proof that we are conditioned to prioritize information by our bent, level of study or subject research. Intel which comes to us through other avenues...may now seem tedious but more reliable...on a good day we may go to the physical library to look up a few books but while there we are reduced and seduced to jump on the net, check email, update Facebook or play a game that serves as escapism!
Indeed, the Internet has forever changed how we glean needed information...even more than the television did decades ago. As the computer has worked its way into every facet of Western life we have lost some sense of a personal touch of a personal handwritten note and opt for a handier quick email or thumb-tapped acronym in a text message. Is it really that much easier to look up a recipe via a search engine than to dig for the one handed down from Granny that's buried or stuck like glue with food residue to the dog-eared page of the hand me down" copy of The Best of Betty Crocker"?
As for our hopping from place to place...I guess distraction factor has always been there...maybe...or did the constant bombardment of various ads and suggestions breed more of this? Is this the "which came first (chicken or egg?)" question again?
I think we should question everything we see and read - what ever the source. As the future of the computers can be both for our betterment or our demise in a literal sense...I say even though we may not be growing S-T-U-P-I-D we do seem to be at best - seriously more sedentary and highly-trained at the art of an attention deficit! For our future I think moderation serves us well...like in most things...it is the key to a happy and healthier existence!
P.S. Maybe I mised the 48 hour deadline but in my defense...I had a terrible time getting this post to post! Aside from my obvious errors in puncuation and grammar...but be it known that there IS a limit to how long of a comment you can leave!!!! I realize now it was only trying to truncate my message BUT kept giving me the message that it was an HTML issue...live and learn!!! ARGH!
Whoa! I thought I'd never get finished reading that article, or maybe it was really a short book in disguise. I struggled in the beginning to stay focused, but getting up to go the kitchen twice, I challenged myself to read through the entire article without doing anything else. It was really difficult. I almost blew it by doing a Ctrl-N and looking up something else in another window, but I bypassed the urge and actually stayed relatively focused, or at least I didn't move or log on to anything else until I completed the challenge successfully.
Aquasammi and I must think alike, because for the past 10 years, I've been wondering about possibly being ADD, too. Although my husband believes that I will be the first person to reach the end of the Internet,I never really linked the Internet to my thought process. I find that to be very intriguing.
The article made good points about distraction, immediate need for information, and how Internet Media affects the way we read. It also referenced quotes by Google founders about artificial intelligence that seemed a little scary to me. I like using the Internet to easily locate or research any information quickly, and it is true that I skim through the online data. If I want to contemplate or read or study a topic, I prefer a hard copy of the material and will print it out or get the book. The bottom line is that each individual needs to be cognoscente of their own Internet habits and decide for themselves what and how they want to use it.
Blog,blog,blog. Nicholas Carr's blog was the longest blog I've ever read.The irony here is that in the first paragraph he talks about how his attention span has shortened since he has immersed himself into the readings and writings of the internet.and yes my mind did wonder, I got up twice for a personal commercial break, and I was temped to scan the rest of the article just like he says he is tempted when he attempts the lengthy read.
Don't get me wrong, I can hang with a good book. A book is peaceful.A book suggests you find a quiet spot and to carve out an hour or two so that it can have your undivided attention. a book does not want you to tune out but to tune in. Most importantly a book doesn't hum or buzz and the pages don't glow. when something hums and glows at me, my mind turns off and stares at it like a zombie because my mind thinks it's television.
But hey,don't listen to my yackin about oldschool things like books, I'm an "inbetweeny" like Nicholas Carr.
Inbetweenys are old enough to remember when people thought about art, writing, painting ,and photography in a different way. We can see things changing and be a part of both the past and the future of it. but soon we will be the old farts saying things like "back in my day", and "hey you kids, get off my lawn!' and none of our memory of anything different will matter.
Our brains are morphing into what they will need to be in order to handle this cybernetic era we are jumping off a cliff into. Sure it will come at a price like all the other eras before it did, but the game board has been placed before us and we might as well grab the dice and roll.
scratch that, I mean the game screen has been placed before us and we might as well grab the headset and create our character.
One could look at the use of the computer and internet in both lights. Finding needed information in the matter of seconds is a luxury that we have all seemed to become accustomed to. No one seems to have the time in our fast-paced lives that the convenience of finding information quickly is what attracts us to the idea of using the computer. As to the matter that the internet and computer has made our society more “stupid,” I can somewhat agree. The fact that we spend majority of our time on the computer doing school work, work at our jobs, or just surfing and chatting online, we have become used to the fact that we no longer talk to people face to face as much. Because of this occurrence, people become more comfortable saying what they feel on the computer and less comfortable in the presence of actual human beings. Also, people have become more grammatically lazy by abbreviating phrases and using internet slang. People often use this internet slang in school papers and resumes, making our society ultimately seem more “stupid.” If the use of the computer continues to progress the way it has in past years, we can expect our children to learn at a younger age that this behavior is acceptable. This inevitably will make our society more “stupid” in years to come.
In my original post, I didn't quite address the questions Ken asked, so I will attempt to do so here. I believe that as a society, our relation to the computer is one of dependency and exploration. It's both exciting and convenient to discover information about any topic at the click of a button, communicate with people across the globe or shop and pay bills without leaving the house. However, I wonder about the helplessness of society if the infrastructure of the Internet were to fail for some reason. I experienced a mild panic when our house was struck by lightning and I was without my computer for 2 days. I couldn't wait to get back online. I feel that we risk becoming even more sedentary as a society if we don't break away from the "orb" of the computer. On the other hand, much individual knowledge can be obtained by skimming through the information available for any given topic.
The need for immediate and quick access can be both a hindrance and a benefit. Will we all be put on ADD medication because we can't seem to focus on a singular topic for any length of time, or can lives be saved by having 24x7 access to critical information?
I'm not sure what type of culture will emerge or how we will use the computer in the future. I do know that the computer will get smaller, that we will be able to retrieve information at a faster pace, and that Internet support groups for addicts will be popping up all over the place. I'm a little concerned that they will invent a method of surgically attaching computer devices to our anatomy. As I mentioned in my first post, people need to be cognoscente of their own Internet habits and decide for themselves what and how they want to use it.
Post a Comment