Nicholas Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” published in 2008 was an essay that would cause a clash of opinions among intellectuals everywhere. Many essays were written in response or reference to his ‘original’ paper, one contemplating the possible changes that the internet – specifically Google – has been making to the functions of the human brain. Clive Thompsons “Smarter Than You Think: How Technology is Changing Our Minds for the Better” and Steven Pinker’s “Mind Over Mass Media” are two essays that were written shortly after Carr’s. Pinker and Thompson share a theory on the matter of technological advancement that opposes Carr’s original claim that the internet may be more harm than good to human’s cognitive development. While proposing
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Even in the present year, nearly a decade after Carr’s original depiction of how the internet has been changing his thinking process, scientists cannot say for certain whether the internet is harming or helping us. Some may try, pointing in the direction of a recent study to prove their points. However, there always lies another article just around the corner, providing evidence from a separate line of research disputing another’s claims. The same can be said for all other types of technological – or rather literary – advancement. As Pinker states, “New forms of media have always caused moral panics: the printing press, newspapers…were all once denounced as threats to their consumers’ brainpower and moral fiber” (Stephen Pinker, 2010). The claims over the years have shown themselves to be numerous. It appears that the conception of each turning point invention has sparked discourse, often negative, on how the new technology is changing our minds. Thompson’s recollection of how the world reacted to the printed word clarifies Pinker’s statement. The manner of which the world reacts to different types of innovation varies from worries over its effects over our memory, to how the abundance of information will overshadow the important occurrences with trivial matters (Thompson, 348-349). It is not farfetched to say that the internet is a possible accumulation of all of the previous worries humanity has had of its’ predecessors. Despite these worries, Pinker and Thompson share an optimistic outlook on the internet and its effects on its users. This optimism does not overshadow the internets shortcomings in their eyes all the same. Pinker conveys his understanding that the internet is a tool that can be entirely distracting, and proposes that the internet is capable of being entirely proactive if proper countermeasures are put in place. His claim is strengthened by Thompsons personal
Even in the present year, nearly a decade after Carr’s original depiction of how the internet has been changing his thinking process, scientists cannot say for certain whether the internet is harming or helping us. Some may try, pointing in the direction of a recent study to prove their points. However, there always lies another article just around the corner, providing evidence from a separate line of research disputing another’s claims. The same can be said for all other types of technological – or rather literary – advancement. As Pinker states, “New forms of media have always caused moral panics: the printing press, newspapers…were all once denounced as threats to their consumers’ brainpower and moral fiber” (Stephen Pinker, 2010). The claims over the years have shown themselves to be numerous. It appears that the conception of each turning point invention has sparked discourse, often negative, on how the new technology is changing our minds. Thompson’s recollection of how the world reacted to the printed word clarifies Pinker’s statement. The manner of which the world reacts to different types of innovation varies from worries over its effects over our memory, to how the abundance of information will overshadow the important occurrences with trivial matters (Thompson, 348-349). It is not farfetched to say that the internet is a possible accumulation of all of the previous worries humanity has had of its’ predecessors. Despite these worries, Pinker and Thompson share an optimistic outlook on the internet and its effects on its users. This optimism does not overshadow the internets shortcomings in their eyes all the same. Pinker conveys his understanding that the internet is a tool that can be entirely distracting, and proposes that the internet is capable of being entirely proactive if proper countermeasures are put in place. His claim is strengthened by Thompsons personal