Day: April 22, 2021

Week 12: Knowledge at Our Fingertips (shafi khan)

shafi ahmmad khan

1)Carr explains that the internet makes us stupid because its silicon memory is a tremendous boon to thinking but comes at an enormous price. First, “the internet chips away scholars’ capacity to concentrate and contemplate ideas. It is a passive information channel that may have detrimental impacts in shaping the process of thought and supplying ideas.” (pp. 2) Second, the internet configures the mind to take information as shallowly as provided – a swiftly moving stream of particles. It prevents an individual from critiquing the content and getting into finer details. Carr draws his evidence from fellow scholars who have testified to having trouble focusing on long pieces of writing due to prolonged use of the Web. He reiterates that Scott Karp, an online media blogger and once voracious book reader, confessed to having stopped reading books altogether. The internet provides convenience and laxity in obtaining vital information, thereby reducing readers’ cognitive ability (pp. 3). Also, individuals drawing content from the Web usually employ skimming, hopping from one website to another rather than comprehensive reading. This approach brews shallow thinking. Therefore, “the internet makes readers stupid by disengaging their ability to interpret text and make rich mental connections that form when they read deeply and void of distractions.” (pp.4)

2)Having immediate access to a vibrant store of information is convenient. However, it may have several adverse effects on the readers. First, the readers may lose their ability to concentrate and contemplate the content (pp. 2). Carr draws evidence from Marshall McLuhan that suggested that media are just passive channels of information, depriving scholars of skills developed through active reading. Second, readers lose the cognitive ability to critique, approve and assimilate information. Carr explains that Bruce Friedman, a regular blogger in the field of Medicine, admitted that the internet had interfered significantly with his mental habits. He could barely read and absorb the facts in a longish web or printed article (pp. 3). From a personal perspective, I find it relatively challenging to visit the library and find a physical book to conduct my research. This occurrence is attributed to ability to obtain all the information I consider relevant for my scholarly work simply at the touch of a button on my smartphone. Nevertheless, some sites often provide unverified content, leading to misinformation.

3)Shirkey argues that scholars can experiment with new areas of knowledge in a much easier way by constantly having access to the internet. However, this approach has its advantages and disadvantages. The pros include: “The approach inculcates new and better reading and writing cultures. It promotes hyperactive and data-stoked minds as individuals navigate the Web, thereby spearheading a golden age of intellectual discoveries and universal wisdom” (pp. 10). It provides a new and refreshing experience to studying as opposed to conventional printed content. The cons include: “It deprives the readers of the valuable kind of deeply-engrossed reading that only a sequence of printed pages could offer” (pp. 11). Also, reading through the internet is prone to uncalled-for distractions. Therefore, the readers find it challenging to contemplate information, draw inferences and analogies and foster their ideas. It subjects readers to information overload and unnecessary pressure while trying to grasp the enormous content at once.

4)I think that the internet if used appropriately, provides scholars with new knowledge at their convenience. However, it also melts the brains of individuals who dismiss printed peer-reviewed factual content and those who do not take sufficient time to critique information derived from the Web. Therefore, the internet should be used cautiously to help readers with useful information without demeaning their cognitive capabilities.

 

 

 

 

Week 12: Knowledge at Our Fingertips

Arianna Liang Zheng

1. I think what Carr is saying is that advanced technology has given us so much convenience and infinite information, leading people to misunderstand the knowledge they do have or know. In Carr’s article, it mentions that “because they would be able to “receive a quantity of information without proper instruction,” they would “be thought very knowledgeable when they are for the most part quite ignorant.” My understanding is that the internet allows people to search for any knowledge or anything they want to know without any guidance just by having the internet, and this gives people the illusion that they have and hold the knowledge because they can look it up whenever they want, but in fact, it is only temporary because maybe the knowledge they get is partial or not always accurate. This is what leads people to become stupid because this convenience leads to a regression in their memory, people don’t need to think anymore, they can find any information on the internet at any time.

2. To be honest, I don’t think there are problems with having immediate access as I enjoy the convenience of immediate access. But I am also aware that doing this may cost us something. We might lose a lot of interesting and fantastic ideas because we might be less likely to think and have difficulty fitting into a book, now that it is easy to find a certain snippet we need on the internet instead of needing to read the whole book. We also might lose concentration because there are too many things that distract us from reading on the internet, such as advertisements or flashing images.

3. The pros are that the internet allows us to spend less time looking for information or finding people. The cons are that it makes people less likely to innovate because the wealth of information on the internet makes people have a fixed mindset and rely on the internet to look up things without thinking about them. 

4. I think the internet has both given us new knowledge and somehow melted our brains in a way, because I can relate to what Carr mentions in his article, that infinite knowledge makes us stupid, in my case I am reliant on the internet, when I am confused about anything my first thought is to go online and search for it, to find the answer or the solution, I become stopped thinking. I no longer want to take the time to understand why it is the way it is, I don’t care about the process, I only care about the result which also leads to me not remembering the knowledge as much because I simply don’t fully understand it. However, the internet has also given me a lot of knowledge, from outside of school, that has kept me interested, something that I may never have been able to access without the internet.

Week 12 (Yailene Rodriguez)

Yailene Rodriguez

1. Carr means that we are now relying on what the internet made so easy for us. We don’t need to be searching in libraries for hours in order to find research on a project, we can just type in exacting what we are looking for in a search engine and find a bunch of links and websites that have the information that we are looking for. This is what Carr means, the internet made humans dumber than humans before the internet because we no longer have to think hard or look hard to find the information we need. Looking for research before, took hours in a library search shelves, and proofreading articles to see if they contained the information we needed. Now researching only requires searching on Google a combination of keywords, selecting a link, and skimming through the article to find what we need. The internet has made it so we have to do minimal effort and thinking in order to find what we need and this is the real reason why Carr thinks humans are dumber now than before.

2. I think the problem with having immediate access to the internet is that if we have a little struggle with thinking of an answer, we can just search up the question and have the answer in seconds. Knowing this information, most people will likely just think of the question and type it directly into Google. Although, this could be beneficial for example like searching up why do cats sleep all day? This is learning because this answer was genuine curiosity and was not common knowledge. When it is not beneficial is when you want to solve a math problem and you know the steps on how to solve it, but rather just searching up the solution to save one from any effort in trying. This is where it is problematic, using the internet to do things that you could do yourself is why humans are becoming dumber.

3. The pros of having accessible internet are that we are able to spend less time looking at information and we have assisted in completely things faster. Being able to type on a screen and email it to my professor instead of having to write in by hand and hand it in person, saves time and paper and ensures that the paper doesn’t get damaged. Being able to have more time allows humans to think of newer inventions. The cons are that humans are forgetting basic practices because they can get a quick fix through the internet. Another con is that learning will be changed forever in a couple of years because most of the population has access to the internet.

4. I think the internet is beneficial in allowing people to find things quicker and to be able to search up a youtube video for better understanding if needed but I also think humans play a part in taking the easy way because of the internet. For example, since school is online and all my assigned text is on the computer I am able to have the computer read it to me. This helps me concentrate on the article more and always helps me stay focused. In-person school forced me to have to read the text myself because it was on paper but now I have an option.