Changes In Reading & "Is Google Making Us Stoopid"
Reading over the years has seen a transition from physical to digital media. According to the article "Is Google Making Us Stoopid" by Nicholas Carr, changes in reading have had some negative or concerning effects on the human brain. Notably, the thought process begins to mimic skim reading and a level of disengagement.
As Carr mentions, Bruce Friedman, a blogger of computers' usage in medicine, states he cannot absorb the information in or read a long printed or digital article. Others mentioned also state similar cases, being that they can no longer read as they once did, retain the information, or stay engaged.
Due to information being readily available online in mass quantities, it allows for access to any type of content at any time. This is implied to be leading to an overload for people, with their brains not being able to process all of the media they're consuming, just fragments of it. Skimming for keywords to get the general idea becomes a habit.
In the case of Friedrich Nietzsche, 1882, his vision was fleeting. As a writer, it became difficult to continue straining his eyes in attempts to write. After obtaining a typewriter, he continues to write with ease but colleagues notice alterations in his style. As the article states, Nietzsche style became "telegraphic."
With the invention of the mechanical clock can an age where time could be measured mathematically, but it too altered human life. Instead of relying on instinct of sorts, people began to use the clock as a way to dictate when parts of their lives were meant to happen. It replaced a natural occurrences with a manufactured ones. As a result, the brain began to mimic the clock, similar to how it has begun to mimic other machines.
Google provides an easy way for people to access the internet's content. Its headquarters have searched in the past for ways to integrate Google with AI, of which the closest thing we currently have to this would be Google Home. What used to be confined to a search engine is now available in any room of the house and multi-functional.
With all this being said, it's most likely that this trend will continue into the future. The brain will progressively reprogram itself with technology and the next generation will be able to adapt more easily with it than the previous. Problems with skimming will most likely still exist and difficulty reading will as well. There's no way of knowing how far it will go exactly or what method may be used to counteract it, but what is known is that the problem will persist.
As Carr mentions, Bruce Friedman, a blogger of computers' usage in medicine, states he cannot absorb the information in or read a long printed or digital article. Others mentioned also state similar cases, being that they can no longer read as they once did, retain the information, or stay engaged.
Due to information being readily available online in mass quantities, it allows for access to any type of content at any time. This is implied to be leading to an overload for people, with their brains not being able to process all of the media they're consuming, just fragments of it. Skimming for keywords to get the general idea becomes a habit.
In the case of Friedrich Nietzsche, 1882, his vision was fleeting. As a writer, it became difficult to continue straining his eyes in attempts to write. After obtaining a typewriter, he continues to write with ease but colleagues notice alterations in his style. As the article states, Nietzsche style became "telegraphic."
With the invention of the mechanical clock can an age where time could be measured mathematically, but it too altered human life. Instead of relying on instinct of sorts, people began to use the clock as a way to dictate when parts of their lives were meant to happen. It replaced a natural occurrences with a manufactured ones. As a result, the brain began to mimic the clock, similar to how it has begun to mimic other machines.
Google provides an easy way for people to access the internet's content. Its headquarters have searched in the past for ways to integrate Google with AI, of which the closest thing we currently have to this would be Google Home. What used to be confined to a search engine is now available in any room of the house and multi-functional.
With all this being said, it's most likely that this trend will continue into the future. The brain will progressively reprogram itself with technology and the next generation will be able to adapt more easily with it than the previous. Problems with skimming will most likely still exist and difficulty reading will as well. There's no way of knowing how far it will go exactly or what method may be used to counteract it, but what is known is that the problem will persist.
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