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Summary Of Is Google Making USupid By Nicholas Carr

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In his writing originally published in the Atlantic “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, Nicholas Carr demonstrates that our increased internet usage is impeding our ability to concentrate and read deeply.
Carr begins his writing by bringing in a reference from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey which highlights the contrast between a cold human and a computer who is able to feel its mind going. Similar to the computer, the author can feel a change in his mind because he is no longer able to read deeply; a skill that used to come easily to him. Another thing that has changed in the past few years is his internet usage. He now spends more time online doing research or looking for entertainment. The vast expanse of information found on the internet comes at the expense of the author’s “capacity for concentration and contemplation” (315). After talking to others, Carr found that they also attribute their decrease in concentration to the internet. The author includes studies on internet habits that indicate that people do indeed jump from page to page, never really reading deeply into the content. Carr summarizes the findings of experts that demonstrate that the internet promotes a type of reading that does not …show more content…

Carr explains that because our brains are constantly changing, the technology we use has an effect on us. He uses the invention of the clock as an example. It caused us to rely on time to tell us when to do things instead of our senses. The author writes the many tools being replaced by the internet now include various distractors. He has noticed that the influence of the internet has extended into traditional media, which has become shorter to rival the convenience of the internet. As demonstrated, the internet plays a great role in the author’s life, yet there is little information about its

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In the article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, the author suggests that modern technology is changing the way him and other people think. He argues that, in the past, it was much easier to engage in long readings. Now, he claims, reading is more challenging and people are more likely to skim a passage rather than fully absorb the information due to excessive use of the internet (313-314). Carr uses Friedrich Nietzsche’s relationship with his typewriter as an example to express that with every new technology, he warns, the human mind is vulnerable to a change in structure (319). Carr observes and suggests that the more people use and rely on computers, the more the human mind essentially becomes a form of artificial intelligence

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In the essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, Nicholas Carr expresses his concern that the internet could be negatively affecting the way people think. He begins to argue his point by explaining his own issues of not being able to immerse himself in a book like he could before. Carr then reveals his suspicion that it’s the internet’s fault, and supports that by comparing his own experience to others. Reading is a common hobby for most of the people Carr compares experiences with. Like Carr, they found it difficult to read longer pieces of writing, and some blame the internet as well.

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The purpose of Carr’s essay is to raise skepticism of the internet and the influences it has on the mind. The internet has become a part of my daily regimen. Online is where my homework

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Meredith Weese D. Ballenger ENGL – 112 10 March 2023 Evaluation Essay Nicholas Carr’s article in The Atlantic magazine July/August 2008 issue titled “Is Google Making Us Stupid” purpose is to inform the readers. With the way the internet and its vast amount of information at the tip of our fingers has altered our ability to dive deep into readings. Whether it is for educational purposes or pleasure our ability to spend hours in a book have changed. Nicholas Carr’s article “Is Google Making Us Stupid” achieved its purpose because the examples he used from himself and others, the writing is clear easy to follow as he makes relevant references to the way other technologies have changed our way of thinking, his writing is objective.

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Harvard Writer, Nicholas Carr, in his Advocacy article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?,” Describes the altering effects of the internet and search engines on our brains. Carr´s purpose is to get the reader aware of the impact the internet has on our everyday life. He adopts a informative tone in order to appeal emotionally and logically to his audience. Carr begins his advocacy for the internet by acknowledging that in ¨A Space Odyssey¨ when they rely too much on Artificial Intelligence it could get a human killed, in this example the supercomputer HAL almost drifted astronaut Dave Bowman into a deep space death by the malfunctioning machine; Showing that the astronaut is superior than a machine. He appeals to the emotion of sadness by admitting that “I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something has been tinkering with my brain” he is “not thinking the way i used to.”

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One of the most compelling claims Carr makes to support his arguments is on the damaging consequences of continuously high usage of the internet which inadvertently diminishes one’s ability to focus and read long passages. Although, the internet has many benefits from quickly gathering information for research, versus the lengthy time it takes using books, Carr asserts reading on the internet is depleting his level of deep concentration. The effects of skimming the surface of articles are draining and robbing our brain’s process of thought patterns.

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In his thought-provoking essay, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?", Nicholas Carr challenges readers to consider the potential impact of the internet and digital technologies on the human mind. Through his use of rhetorical strategies, including anecdotes, historical references, and expert testimony, Carr argues that the internet may be fundamentally changing the way we think and process information. One of Carr's most effective rhetorical devices is his use of personal anecdotes to illustrate the potential consequences of digital distraction. Carr describes how his own ability to concentrate on lengthy reading has been compromised by the constant interruptions and distractions of the internet.

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In his article “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, Nicholas Carr explores the impact of the internet, particularly search engines like Google, on our cognitive abilities and thought processes. He argues that our capacity to concentrate deeply and intently may be affected by the internet's easy access to information and constant barrage of distractions. He believed that we are growing accustomed to skimming brief pieces and hopping from one issue to another, rather than reading long texts and thinking through complicated concepts. He claims that reading deeply and critically is declining as a result of how simple it is to obtain a wealth of information online. Carr uses his own experiences and observations to illustrate how the internet has impacted his own reading habits as well as attention

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While it is true that internet is changing the way we think, but it is not making us stupid. The author speaks that he is not the only one, and that his friends have the same problems. For them it is hard to concentrate in long readings. “The more they use the Web, the more they have to fight to stay focused” (Carr 573).

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Previous generations used encyclopedias or went to the library to gather information for schoolwork or any reports that needed written. Carr states “the faster we surf across the Web – the more links we click and pages we view – the more opportunities google and other companies gain to collect information about us and feed us advertisements” (Carr 325). Therefore, google is getting us to buy into its advertisements and spend money on products that we do not need. Carr also states, “it almost seems that they go online to avoid reading in the traditional sense” (Carr 317). With there being so many distractions on the Internet, people are not able to absorb the information they are reading.

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Since the of creation the internet, we now work between the realms of technology and reality, in which indulge our minds into on a daily basis. Nicolas Carr, the author of “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” tries to reveal to society that although the use of the internet has simplified multiple factors of our daily life, the complete indulgence of our attention in the internet is causing our once information thirsty minds to become completely uninterested altogether. Our minds are becoming simple and confined shells that can no longer think on their own, create their own ideas, or even interpret meanings without the help from the internet. I strongly agree with Nicolas Carr’s thoughts on how the internet has practically spoiled our brains to the

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Nicolas Carr, an acclaimed writer in both business and technology, argues in “"Is Google Making Us Stupid?” published in 2008, that the internet is altering the way humans focus. In his article, Carr states “Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages” (Carr). Using first person personal experience this permits readers to presuppose that everyone is justly and effortlessly exposed to the impacts of the internet. Additionally accrediting himself, a prosperous and educated writer, Carr adds reliability and support towards his argument demonstrating that a literate, knowledgeable man can be susceptible to the effects of the internet. Scientific studies have been done which support the theory that the internet is deteriorating

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Our way of thinking is beginning to change to the way that computers do. Advancements are made everyday. These new advancements are attempting to make life in general easier for everyone. Nicholas Carr makes the claim that, “as the internet because our primary source of the information it is affecting our ability to read books and other long narratives.” Carr suggests that using the internet is altering the way that our minds operate.

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According to this statement the readers can conclude that the main reason for reading concentration disturbance is the internet. In terms of the scientific research, the article provides the research by the British Library and U.K educational consortium which states “They found that people using the sites exhibited ‘a form of skimming activity,’ hopping from one source to another rarely returning to any source they’d already visitied” (Carr, 2008). From this statement we can understand that there are numbers of attractive information piled on one page, people have a hard time choosing which one to read, resulting them to skim and jump to one another. From these couple examples, it can be concluded that the author of this essay is strongly attempting to convince the readers in his idea of internet disturbing people’s concentration. However, the essay itself is extremely biased, because of the fact that there is no information about benefits of using the internet and reading online.

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The Influence of Technology In the essay, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr argues that utilization of the internet has an adverse effect on our way of thinking and functioning in everyday life. Whether it be reading a newspaper, or scrolling through Facebook, internet media has forever stamped its name in our existence. Carr explains to us that the internet is a tool used every single day in today’s society, but also makes most of us complacent with the ease of having the world at our fingertips.

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