Chase Smith
Mr. Melancon
ENGL 1013
October 12 2015
Explanatory Synthesis:
In “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr & “Smarter than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for the Better” by Clive Thompson, both authors explore several different topics concerning technology and our minds. One of these topics is our reliance on technology, and if it is going too far. Another, is how it’s affecting our cognition, along with what would change if we used it correctly. Carr believes that technology has more of a negative impact on the human mind, while Thompson views technology as an opportunity to improve human life. One thing both Carr and Thompson disagree on is if we are becoming too reliant on technology. Carr takes the …show more content…
creating a human 2.0. He supports this on page 349 of his article, “First, they allow for prodigious external memory…” they, referring to digital tools and how they have a large impact on our cognition. “Second, todays tools make it easier for us to find connections-between ideas, pictures, people, bits of news-that were previously invisible. Third they encourage a superfluity of communication and publishing.” He argues that this transformation is in fact changing every thing about our cognition, and it has been for many years, since every tool changes the way we think and what we think. Thompson argues that technology allows us to focus on being human. For example, playing chess with the help of a computer can free you from the need to rely on memory, and you can focus more on playing in a more creative …show more content…
Thompson explains that when chess players are genuinely passionate about the game, technology helped them, “internalize the game much more profoundly and advance to new levels of human excellence.” (Thompson 358) Carr, on the other hand, got lost in the internets wide abundance of knowledge and media which chipped away at his cognition but admits that, “The Web has been a godsend to me as a writer.” (Carr 314)
Both of theses arguments may be slightly bias but their differences equal out in the end, Carr comes from a tradition of western culture which bases it self around high education while Thompson is a freelance journalist and blogger. The differences are clear from their thoughts on technology’s affect on our cognition to how reliant we are on it from simple tasks to research. In the end they come together to establish one central idea, if technology is used correctly in the right circumstances society will reap the benefits.
Works
Mr. Melancon
ENGL 1013
October 12 2015
Explanatory Synthesis:
In “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr & “Smarter than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for the Better” by Clive Thompson, both authors explore several different topics concerning technology and our minds. One of these topics is our reliance on technology, and if it is going too far. Another, is how it’s affecting our cognition, along with what would change if we used it correctly. Carr believes that technology has more of a negative impact on the human mind, while Thompson views technology as an opportunity to improve human life. One thing both Carr and Thompson disagree on is if we are becoming too reliant on technology. Carr takes the …show more content…
creating a human 2.0. He supports this on page 349 of his article, “First, they allow for prodigious external memory…” they, referring to digital tools and how they have a large impact on our cognition. “Second, todays tools make it easier for us to find connections-between ideas, pictures, people, bits of news-that were previously invisible. Third they encourage a superfluity of communication and publishing.” He argues that this transformation is in fact changing every thing about our cognition, and it has been for many years, since every tool changes the way we think and what we think. Thompson argues that technology allows us to focus on being human. For example, playing chess with the help of a computer can free you from the need to rely on memory, and you can focus more on playing in a more creative …show more content…
Thompson explains that when chess players are genuinely passionate about the game, technology helped them, “internalize the game much more profoundly and advance to new levels of human excellence.” (Thompson 358) Carr, on the other hand, got lost in the internets wide abundance of knowledge and media which chipped away at his cognition but admits that, “The Web has been a godsend to me as a writer.” (Carr 314)
Both of theses arguments may be slightly bias but their differences equal out in the end, Carr comes from a tradition of western culture which bases it self around high education while Thompson is a freelance journalist and blogger. The differences are clear from their thoughts on technology’s affect on our cognition to how reliant we are on it from simple tasks to research. In the end they come together to establish one central idea, if technology is used correctly in the right circumstances society will reap the benefits.
Works