Google- Too Much Distraction?
“Is Google Making Us Stupid?”
In an article written by Peter Norvig, also called, Is Google Making Us Stupid, in October of 2010, he talks about the deep concern he has for the use of the internet, and the question of, is Google making us stupid? This article was published on the New York Times Upfront, a newsmagazine for teens. It was based off of an article by Nicholas Carr, called Is Google Making Us Stupid, and it disputes points made by him. In Norvig’s two main headers, he explains his reasoning of why Google is in fact making us stupid, but also his reasons why it’s not.
We all realize that Google is a great and powerful thing, but Norvig questions this power in his article. He talks about the fact that we are able to find the information we need quickly, but that is not where we get our knowledge. Our knowledge comes from our ability to find this information, and think in depth on the information it presents us. Through studies from scientists, he tells us that the human brain is best functioned when in a calm state of mind. This is not like when we use the internet, as it itself is a big distraction and now even more with the growing amount of ads on a page. He says that since we use our technology all day long, we are always distracted.
He also talks about the fact that all things internet are ever increasingly becoming faster. This may be through quicker internet, better links, basically anything. And since everything is becoming faster, we are forced to keep up. This means we are becoming “shallow” in the way we look at and analyze things we read today. He makes a point to tell us that we need to turn off all electronics when we are trying to focus to get the best out of our time. I believe that we as should abide by this and let ourselves really focus.
After this section he goes on about how Google is not making us stupid, which I don’t fully agree with. He talks about how the internet has almost everything you could ever want. Which is true, the internet is great for pictures, articles, books, journals, music, movies and more. Also we are able to get it at a much quicker rate than if we had to use an actual book in a library.
He came to the conclusion that Google has made us smarter, but yet, I still disagree. Yes, we are able to have this information, but this information was already there. It might be harder to find in a book somewhere, but it still out there if you look for it. The internet in general, not just google, is making it so that we are always distracted. But, I also conclude that it is not just Google or the internet, it can be our laptops or phones. Everyday, new games come out for them and that’s also what people spend a lot of their time on. I believe it is the new technology that is the biggest distraction to us. When we are distracted, we are less productive. It’s as simple as that.
As Peter Norvig said best,
“You can Google all the facts you want, but you’ll never Google your way to brilliance.”
Cites:
Norvig, Peter. “The New York Times Upfront-The News Magazine for High School.” Scholastic Inc, 4 Oct. 2010. Web. 19 June 2015.
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