Essay about Is Google Making Us Stupid?, by Nicholas Carr

Technology has evolved so much over the course of 82 years. People who were living in 1935 would have no clue what a computer is or what it could potentially become. Education itself and how we learn has come a long way. Everything was hand written. Now in 2017, we have every answer with just one touch of a button. Google is a search engine that holds almost every answer in the world. There are many opinions on the way humans in 2017 function, and process information. Nicholas carr is a respect author who writes about the relationship between technology and culture. He has written for the Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, etc. He has written two great essay that have won The Best American Science and Nature Writing, The Best collected in Several Anthologies, The Best American Science and Nature Writing, and The Best Technology Writing. One of them which is titled, “Is Google Making Us Stupid.”  Nicholas Carr argues that Google is not making humans stupid, but as technology progress our minds must adapt and change the way we think and process information. This essay has many rhetorical approaches. Nicholas Carr uses imagery, opinion, ethos, and pathos to persuade his audience, provoking a doubt on whether google is making humans stupid.

The internet has made an immense impact on every generation since its existence as it continues to grow throughout time. Its effectiveness is prodigious; the internet allows people to gain information that once took days to retrieve it in a few minutes (Carr 1). Writer Nicholas Carr, in his article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, explains that the use of internet and technology causes harm to people and their brains. Carr’s purpose is to address to internet users that Google (or any electronic helpers) is making them “stupid” and lazy because it minimizes their concentration and willingness to think. He attempts to adapt to his audience, dedicated internet users, as he uses the rhetorical appeals to try to convince them of his purpose. However, this was not enough. Nicholas Carr’s article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?,” is ineffective because of his poor use of ethos and logos despite his good use of pathos.

In the article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, the main argument the author, Nicholas Carr is trying to make is to explain how the Internet becomes our only source of information. Carr is also trying to warn oncoming generations in how the Internet has affected our ability to read long pieces or to be able to retain information for a long period of time. Carr provides personal experience, imagery, and a professional analysis that is backed by research to hook the audience in and persuade them that in today’s society, the Internet is only causing problems rather than any solutions.Throughout the article Carr provides an abundant amount of rhetorical modes by giving examples and studies from different organizations . Carr gives an insight on the positive ways the Internet had influenced his life.

In the essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, Nicholas Carr expresses his beliefs and personal experiences on how the internet has altered our brains and how we think. He addresses the fact that, although our brains’ abilities to deep read and concentrate are suffering, the internet is extremely beneficial and convenient. Because of the easy accessibility, it takes little to no effort to find information, and therefore, a minimal amount of thinking is required. Carr highlights that people are more impatient because of the internet and that our minds are becoming more erratic. The author used research, conducted by a U.K. educational consortium, to show that a new form of reading is developing over time; rather than reading every word on a page, it has turned to more of a skimming method. Nicholas Carr realizes that we may be doing more reading than ever due to the internet, but it is different in the way that people have to interpret the text. Reading, unlike talking, is not a natural ability. One must learn to deep read, make connections, and translate the underlying meaning. Overall, Carr believes it is a mistake to rely fully on computers because in the end, it will just be our own intelligence that morphs into artificial intelligence.

“Is Google Making Us Stupid” by Nicolas Carr, argues that using the internet to read is less thought inciting then reading books. Carr has focused on the various claims that support the argument above. The writer claims that the Internet causes lack of concentration as it is full of ads, hyperlinks, and other media which is meant to distract us. This he gives the example of someone reading the latest headlines in a newspaper site when suddenly a new e-mail messages announces its arrival with a tone of some sort. He says that the “The result is to scatter our attention and diffuse our concentration.” The next claim he makes is that the way we read on the Internet is changing how we use our brains to think; therefore making us less contemplative. Carr mentions Maryanne Wolf who works as a developmental psychologist at Tufts University. Wolf believes that when we read online we become “mere decoders of information”. I believe that Carr uses this example to give the illusion that when we read online we don’t truly gain knowledge but instead we just gather more information.

Nicholas Carr’s essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” is a piece that will open the eyes of any internet user. He explains his own issues with lack of focus when reading long novels and says it is a product of the interweb’s shaping. As Google becomes more and more part of our daily lives, it is having a negative effect on our information processes and interpretations. In effect, its current use is preventing us from retaining information and to be able to think, comprehend, and be inquisitive.

An article published in The Atlantic entitled “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” criticizes to what effect the internet has on our cognition. Despite the title of the article, technology writer Nicholas Carr does not target Google specifically, but rather the World Wide Web as a whole; moreover, he attributes his recent troubles concentrating while reading books and more-lengthy articles to the long hours he has been spending on the internet.

In the essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid” by Nicholas Carr he talks about how using Google has affected the way he thinks and reads. In his essay he breaks this down to the psychological side of it and gives examples of other writers from the past, including himself. In today’s society everyone uses Google but, not everyone uses it the same. Personally, I do gain benefits from Google although it has impacted my reading skills. However, Google has not only impacted my reading skills but my revision and editing abilities have been affected as well.

I recently read Mr. Nicholas Carr's article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, and I must say I do agree with Carr somewhat, but I strongly disagree. In the beginning of the article, Carr states that a few years ago he could read in-depth and for pages on an Internet article. Now, he says, that he cannot help but “skim” through an article in seconds; he feels that Internet search engines like “Google” (I list it specifically hence the article's title) make information so very accessible and immediate that it damages his reading. Although I can sympathize for him, I can not say I empathize because I am a different person with a different way of reading and thinking.

What is google? Google is a search engine, and if a person types anything into that search engine, then that person gets millions to even billions of suggestions in under a second. In the essay “Is Google making us stupid” by Nicholas Carr, he gives multiple examples why Google is making us stupid. For example, he says we can’t read text deep enough, and we always get distracted. But, I disagree with the author's argument because I believe that Google is helping get information and knowledge out in the world way easier than older techniques, Google is also making things more straightforward and easier to understand.

Nicolas Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid” examines the way the internet’s instant information is shaping the way we process and retrieve information. Rather than gaining knowledge through many grueling hours of research at the library reading through every book that may or may not give you information, now a simple click on a website or link can produce information in seconds. With an instant gratification of retrieving information, over time, patience with reading long, drawn out research material is diminished. “I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do…. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle.” (Carr, 1)

Is Google Making Us Stupid? Is an article that exemplifies rhetoric expertise. The writer of the article, Nicholas Carr, is well known for his writing regarding the tech industry. Before understanding the author’s approach, the reader must understand the author’s background. What authority do they have to write about this subject? In this case, I’ll deliver my own knowledge of his background. Carr is a scholar writer who has written for the Harvard Business Review, various essays covering tech influential topics, as well as a few books that have received rather high reviews from critics. While Carr never directly referenced his background within this article, there is a small assumption to be made from the purpose of this piece. Carr is writing this article in order to provide background information for his new book Utopia is Creepy. This is logical of the writer since he is giving us a taste of his writing style, while it is also giving the reader a chance to preview his stance on technology in a brief manner. With Carr’s background in mind, we can begin to look at his purpose with the article. The author uses various rhetorical methods within his writing to structure the writing, form his argument, and achieve his overall purpose.

Everything comes at a cost, sometimes a very high one and sometimes it is hidden. The advancements made in technology, for example, are great and they provide us with helpful tools, and help us to progress in different areas like production. However, it has some drawbacks like the way it affects us. It has not only impacted the way we interact with one another, but also the way we think and behave. Notwithstanding, the problem does not solely fall on technology, it also lies in our inability to disconnect from the virtual world and our inviolable wants. Many people take a stand on the issue and are either for or against the modern technology and further advancement, nevertheless the problem nor the solution is black and white but it is more complex than one perceives.

In his writing, Carr explains how his mind has become much more erratic since his use of the

In today’s society, it has become the social norm to say, “google it,” when we do not know the answer or we are just too lazy to look for an answer. Instead we continuously reference a site that claims to have all the answers. In Nicholas Carr`s passage, Is Google Making Us Stupid? he goes in depth to explain the effects of relying on technology. Through a well thought out and dominating ethos and logos argument he finds ways to warn the public of the coming doom of the dependencies on technology, with a less dominating pathos argument he makes the audience think deeper and fear the changes in our minds, as well as using slippery slope fallacies to push his opinions.