The author of this essay, Nicholas Carr, while he was published in The Atlantic Online and I respect his knowledge, he seemed to whine throughout this publication. While there are flaws with the technology in this era and technology is being used quite ruthlessly, the good that it is doing is being overlooked. The article itself states many positives; "research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes," and "the advantages of having immediate access to such an incredibly rich store of information are many." I am very skeptical of his skepticism of the current technologies. Yet I find a lot of truths in what he is trying to say.
I am very skeptical, mainly because this was written six years ago. Our mind is more adapted to this usage of technology and it isn't as new as it used to be. When things like time, maps, printing press, telephone, and calculator were invented we adapted and benefited, with some flaws, but now the internet has taken all of these inventions and made them accessible in one place. They talk about 'artificial intelligence' and 'the human brain is just...' It is mentioned how an un-natural brain would leave you better off than what you currently have. That the brain is just and outdated computer. The human brain is not JUST anything. It is an amazing tool that is benefiting and adapting to the tool we have created and been given in this lifetime. With the skepticism that I am bringing up with this essay there are some obscure things that I agree with.
The fact that Literature majors and professors can't engage in a book or long article or blog post concerns me. I, being part of the technology hungry generation, do not have that problem. I believe that it is because I am so used to technology and the way the Internet is run that I didn't have to adapt, because I don't know anything different. We are most definitely doing more reading than the average person in the 1970's, that is a given. It is also clear that reading is a learned skill that is not natural at first. All of the major inventions in the past centuries were accepted, but people were worried. But one fact about the human nature remains very true, change scares people. It always has, and always will. So until something that will never change goes away the skepticism will always remain and it will be a part of this life. I am curious about what the next big area of questioning will be; robots?
Hello, Maddie! Nice work! I like how you immediately picked up on a tone in this author's work. Mr. Carr indeed sounded whiny, although I think a good word to have used would have perhaps been "envious". Today, our generation can do the research that took him hours to do in book rooms and libraries in just minutes. Color him green with envy, but he certainly was whining through that envy, wasn't he? Keep on blogging!
ReplyDeleteHey Maddie! Nice work keeping up with your summer blogging. Nice engagement with Carr's essay. Interesting observation about this being written six years ago. Perhaps the debate between on-line and "analog" reading is over-- maybe Google is just where we are these days. Keep up the hard work, and I'll see you next month!
ReplyDeleteHello Maddie, how's my favorite cousin doing today? :) Any way when I was really surprised when you mentioned that the article was written 6 years ago! I didn't pay attention to when it was published. I agree with you when you said that "Our mind is more adapted to this usage of technology and it isn't as new as it used to be." I think that is a main reason why our elders are so skeptical of technology. I'm sure we will all feel the same when our future grandkids have some new gadget that they spend all their time on. See you soon!
ReplyDeleteMaddie, I love how you pointed out that this article is a bit outdated; it could definitely sway someone's opinion about Carr's statements. It is also really cool how you gave credit to the human brain. The brain IS "an amazing tool that is benefiting and adapting to the tool we have created..." After all, adapting to our surroundings is very important.
ReplyDelete