Is Google Making Us Stupid?

1. What if the reason for a supposed decline in the ability to concentrate has more to do with advances in other technologies, not the internet? The internet allows us to access almost anything, but devices allow us to do multiple things at the same time causing attention to be dispersed between different programs.


2. "The brain,' according to Olds, 'has the ability to reprogram itself on the fly, altering the way it functions." So why wouldn't the brain be able to change smoothly from using the internet to reading a book? (Page 4)


3. On page 6 Carr seems to complain about Google trying to make information "universally accessible and useful." What is wrong with trying to make search engines as efficient as possible?


4. Why is the ability to have almost any information you need available to you as quickly as possible a negative thing?


5. "They found that people using the sites exhibited 'a form of skimming activity,' hoping from one source to another." In traditional research wouldn't the same type of technique be utilized, skimming the pages or table of contents for a certain piece of information, then discarding it if it wasn't useful?


Critics of the new technological advancements and their widespread use into all aspects of life argue that we are altering the way we think and the way our brains function. Nicholas Carr blames his loss of ability to focus on reading long books and his shortened attention span on the internet. His article "Is Google making us stupider is an attack on the way using the internet has affected his and others' brains negatively. Carr only offers a negative view of the internet in his article, in a contrast Adam Gopnik offers the three most popular takes on the internet and other technological advancements, In his article "The Information" he dubs the three perspectives the "Never-Betters, the Better-Nevers and the Ever-Wasers." Both articles argue the devastating effects technology has on our mind, although Carr is more dramatic about it. 

Materialities

As I prepared to write my first assignment in crayon, I didn't quite understand the purpose of utilizing a crayon and construction paper verse a pen and lined paper or even typing up the assignment. Because the assignment was to be written I had a harder time trying to figure out how to go about completing the assignment. As I wrote the assignment I found myself dropping out ideas because the act of writing them down was tedious and a nuisance.


Many of the pages had the same visual experience, they all were set up in the same standard format of an essay, containing an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Only a few of the pages had anything on their page besides the response to the assignment. And none of the responses on the pages were written from any other angle except portrait style. Over all the pages around the room didn't stray to far from the conventional style, visual wise, of writing. Everyone had an idea of what writing is acceptable and what format is accepted as the standard format and it was followed.


If a culture had only crayons as writing implements, presentation of writing would turn towards a more visual aspect as people utilized all the different colors in their writing. The writing itself might become more relaxed as a more creative form of writing took hold because the act of writing conventionally would become too tedious. The culture would take the most pride in the visual appearance of their work. Writing would become more of a visual art experience as well as an intellectual experience. Those who could create the most beautiful as well as intellectually stimulating would rise above the others.


After writing my first assignment in crayon I would be interested in venturing how other cultures, present or past, looked at writing with the given tools they had to complete them. 

Pantene: You Can Shine

Throughout the commercial the deaf girl struggles with accepting her disability. When she sees the street performer play the violin, she understands the beauty of the music, but is unable to hear it. When she attempts to take up learning the violin she is tormented and bullied by the other girl, and she stops playing. She confides in the street performer that she just wants to be like the others. The street performer helps the deaf girl learn to see the music and teaches her how to play the violin. 

In a few scenes the deaf girl conflicts with her disability. In the final scene when the deaf girl is performing at the Classical Music Competition she plays passionately and finally accepts her deafness. The butterfly in the commercial symbolizes growth, the growth of the deaf girl because she has finally come to terms with her disability.