Is Google Making Us Stupid?, article.
It's fascinating, and a bit scary.
It's also long. Can you finish it?
I thought I was the only one who's developed "adult ADD", but it turns out it's everybody.
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Related article about managing Connectivity-Addiction.
Over four thousand words to say what Homer Simpson could say in eight, 'Google Is Making Us Stupid. Or is it?'
ReplyDeleteThe long road to Idiocracy begins here.
ReplyDeleteThat article was way too long. :)
ReplyDeletetl;dr
ReplyDelete;-)
Well, although it WAS an *unusually* long article, it wasn't boring at all, on the contrary. Therefore, I found no difficulty in reading it all in one go -even before starting to write a comment about it-. :-) It's true that I've always had this natural ability to get deep in both thought and reading.
ReplyDeleteOnce I sent the kids back to their parents and was safe from the outside distractions, I switched on my "concentration mode" and read it all in one go, clicking "Save Target as" to download the PDF reference articles as I encountered them, for LATER reading -I always do that, try to keep my mind organized- all the while stroking the cat on my lap with one hand. :-)
I *so* love some calm "alone" time doing only one thing (or a few) that I OPTED for.
And "since brevity is the essence of wit"... ;-) I'll just say this about the essence of that article:
We only ever change as much as we are ready and willing to change. Even with the Internet. The article said it: ADAPTABILITY, not constant instability, is the essence of the human brain. People who end up "skimming bits of info here and there", like a crazed Mexican jumping-bean inside a pinball machine, are actually revealing something about thermselves. Namely, their NATURAL lack of interest for in-depth thinking. They have an obvious predisposition for it.
I was still just a child, when I became aware that I was too easily influenced, and I instinctively knew disliked it, so I *decided* to focus my brain on changing this... while retaining an open mind! But on becoming a lot more "my own thinker" after assessing everything I saw or was told. Gaining PERSPECTIVE, and seeing "the big picture" in 3-D. We are what -and who- we choose to become. Always.
Unlike today's young people, IM-ing isn't my main means of communication. I've never sent a single IM in my life! I also don't use a cellphone, because I don't even like the principle of this electronic "ball and chain". Not to mention our billing rates, the highest of all Middle East countries, wealthy Kuwait included! ):-P
Addictions always stem from a readiness within the person. As you may have noticed, I can stay absent from the blog for days. I come here out of a choice, an intellectual one, not to get my "daily fix of kewl trivia".
I am, obviously, very chatty. But I can also remain alone and silent for days, mostly thinking. And reading!
There, that was rather concise for such a rich issue, wasn't it? ;-)
I did consider making an analysis of Eo's adult ADD, but it felt a bit off-topic. :-)
My comment at the head of this column should not be read as meaning the article was too long just because it contained over 4,000 words. I often read articles that are much longer, and indeed more complex.
ReplyDeleteMy point was that it does not reach a conclusion. That is not necessarily a fault by definition either, but it often aftbodes ill for the preceding prolixity.
My point was that asking a question, then answering it in order to write at length, and including a 'More research is needed' escape clause, is what some writers do when they are paid by the word, or worse, when they revel in their own garrulity.
"...we still await the long-term neurological and psychological experiments that will provide a definitive picture of how Internet use affects cognition."
Several academic journals now refuse to accept articles that conclude by saying more research is needed. Dammit, do the research and get back to me with a conclusion!
I hear you.
ReplyDeleteIt's like movies that don't have an end.
It was pretty clear from the get-go that there weren't going to be any answers. I mean, this wasn't in some science journal or even Scienfic American.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure, guys... I think more discussion is needed before we can conclude about that article.
ReplyDelete;-)