Introduction
When was the last time you held still and read the same book or article for thirty minutes, an hour, two? Living in a modern world means many great inventions filled with interesting information all at the touch of a screen. Anything a person can think of can be “Googled” and thousands of results will come up in a near instant; Google even helpfully informs how long it takes to retrieve the information. With so much material at one’s fingertips the possibilities are endless. In his paper Nicholas Carr addresses the issue, how much of this information is processed by the brain and how much do we surf past like a wave in the ocean?
Summary
In his essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” author and member of Encyclopedia of Britannica’s …show more content…
He states that there are no studies to define the results of Internet use at this time. However, he puts forth information to be just as relevant to the argument from the University College London, “It is clear that users are not reading online in the traditional sense; indeed there are signs that new forms of “reading” are emerging as users “power browse” horizontally through titles, contents pages and abstracts going for quick wins. It almost seems that they go online to avoid reading in the traditional sense.” (p.91) Carr goes on to use expert opinion in persuading the reader to see that the mind needs deep reading to develop. In doing so, he compares and contrasts the intellectual difference between light and substantive reading. For example, he quotes Maryanne Wolf, developmental psychologist at Tufts University, “We are not only what we read, [w]e are how we read.” Furthermore, “When we read online, she says, we tend to become “mere decoders of information.” Our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged.” (p.91) Carr uses several more experts in varying fields to emphasize his point of comparing and