The Effect of Technology on the Brain
Chris Montuoro
Dr. Andrew Ross
English 110
13 February 2018
In the readings by both Carr and Thompson, there is one main argument, and that is the effect that this increase in technology has on the human brain. Both readings address the issues in different ways, and Thompson even refers to a reading written by Carr at one point in his essay. Even though these two authors took different approaches, they still were able to voice their opinions on this issue.
“The Rise of the Centaurs” by Clive Thompson was the first reading I read. He opens up talking about the game of chess and the way that computers revolutionized it. What fascinated me most was when he covered the two men, Cramton and Stephen. These two were amateur chess players, yet they were able to beat the rest of the “Grandmasters”. Thompson explains that this is because of their ability to collaborate with the computers. They might not have been the most skilled, or had the best software, but the way that they worked together allowed them to take down anyone in their path. Thompson then dives into whether or not the effects of computers on the game of chess are good or bad. He explains how some people say chess players are becoming too reliant on computers to do the work for them, rather than learning the strategies themselves. Even though this might be true, I think Thompson believes that the incorporation of computers is improving the game of chess. He ends his excerpt by going into detail about the records broken by young chess players. “Most remarkably it is producing players who reach grand master status younger. Before computers, it was extremely rare for teen-agers to become grand masters… In 2002, the Ukrainian Sergey Karjakin became one at the tender age of twelve”(Thompson 18). This shows how skilled chess players are getting to be at such a young age, proving the effect of technology.
In “Hal and Me”, however, Nicholas Carr talks more on the effect that technology and more specifically, the internet, has on the human brain. Carr spends most of his time talking about a decrease in concentration, and the inability to do certain things. Carr even uses himself as an example, explaining his own personal experience from when he bought his first computer. He says at first that he was able to edit his work with pen and paper, but gradually he became unable. “But at some point — and abruptly — my editing routine changed. I found I could no longer write or revise anything on paper. I felt lost without the delete key, the scrollbar, the cut and paste functions, the undo command”(Carr 13). This, I am sure, has affected many others like Carr. Many of us are becoming too reliant on technology. What I relate to most in Carr’s writing is the inability to stay concentrated. I always find it difficult to stay focused for a whole reading and I often find myself sometimes skimming or skipping lines.I even did so reading these two excerpts. However, I feel as though Carr has a very negative perspective on this increased technology. I ,for one, am all for technology and think it the best advancement of mankind.
