Post by dylantooflycrow on Aug 3, 2011 10:31:08 GMT -5
Nicholas Carr brings up several strong points that I agree with throughout his essay, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” He suggests that the use of lightening fast search engines like Google are making our brain sporadic and impatient. He says that he has found it harder to read for long periods of time or focus on one piece of literature for more than a few pages. Carr attributes this deficiency to his frequent use of the internet to gather information. Through the speedy use of Google, his brain has taught itself to skim webpages quickly for one small tidbit of information and move on, becoming more “efficient.”
He also says that, “When the mechanical clock arrived, people began thinking of their brains as operating “like clockwork.” Today, in the age of software, we have come to think of them as operating ‘like computers.’” I thought this was a very interesting point to bring up. We can see that through the use of the internet, people have become more apt to taking short cuts for information or success. We always here about the increase in plagiarized material in school work. This is due largely to the easy access of a large amount of fast information on the internet. (Plagiarism is wrong!).
Another important idea that Nicholas Carr brings up is the Industrial Revolution’s early role in how the brain works. He mentions Frederick Winslow Taylor who created a system of work for his factory that greatly increased productivity. “By breaking down every job into a sequence of small, discrete steps and then testing different ways of performing each one, Taylor created a set of precise instructions—an “algorithm,” we might say today—for how each worker should work.” He ascribes this method to how our brain has been taught to work quickly and efficiently by computers. However, efficiently has a different meaning.
The creators of Google Sergey Brin and Larry Page are a couple of super nerds that we’ve given all our money and souls to. The Google they have created is very helpful- when used properly. However, Carr goes on to point out. “Their (Brin and Page) easy assumption that we’d all “be better off” if our brains were supplemented, or even replaced, by an artificial intelligence is unsettling. It suggests a belief that intelligence is the output of a mechanical process, a series of discrete steps that can be isolated, measured, and optimized.” This idea that our brain is a mechanical process, is dangerous. And so is AI. And not just because of the imminent robot takeover. It’s dangerous because the brain is a natural process that takes time and lots and lots of practice and patience to strengthen.
Carr ends with his tie into 2001 Space Oddysey(Which we should watch in class wooho!). “That’s the essence of Kubrick’s dark prophecy: as we come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into artificial intelligence.” I agree, fast search engines like Google are dangerous. Of course, when used properly they are very helpful. We have to learn to take our time with things, even when they are on high speed access.
He also says that, “When the mechanical clock arrived, people began thinking of their brains as operating “like clockwork.” Today, in the age of software, we have come to think of them as operating ‘like computers.’” I thought this was a very interesting point to bring up. We can see that through the use of the internet, people have become more apt to taking short cuts for information or success. We always here about the increase in plagiarized material in school work. This is due largely to the easy access of a large amount of fast information on the internet. (Plagiarism is wrong!).
Another important idea that Nicholas Carr brings up is the Industrial Revolution’s early role in how the brain works. He mentions Frederick Winslow Taylor who created a system of work for his factory that greatly increased productivity. “By breaking down every job into a sequence of small, discrete steps and then testing different ways of performing each one, Taylor created a set of precise instructions—an “algorithm,” we might say today—for how each worker should work.” He ascribes this method to how our brain has been taught to work quickly and efficiently by computers. However, efficiently has a different meaning.
The creators of Google Sergey Brin and Larry Page are a couple of super nerds that we’ve given all our money and souls to. The Google they have created is very helpful- when used properly. However, Carr goes on to point out. “Their (Brin and Page) easy assumption that we’d all “be better off” if our brains were supplemented, or even replaced, by an artificial intelligence is unsettling. It suggests a belief that intelligence is the output of a mechanical process, a series of discrete steps that can be isolated, measured, and optimized.” This idea that our brain is a mechanical process, is dangerous. And so is AI. And not just because of the imminent robot takeover. It’s dangerous because the brain is a natural process that takes time and lots and lots of practice and patience to strengthen.
Carr ends with his tie into 2001 Space Oddysey(Which we should watch in class wooho!). “That’s the essence of Kubrick’s dark prophecy: as we come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into artificial intelligence.” I agree, fast search engines like Google are dangerous. Of course, when used properly they are very helpful. We have to learn to take our time with things, even when they are on high speed access.