There’s a very interesting article over at the Atlantic Online, Is Google Making Us Stupid? which raises some questions about how our interaction with, and use of technology can not only change the way we work with information, but also how we process it - in essence changing the way we think.
This isn’t actually a new phenomenon - When we began to use written texts much more heavily for information transference, over the spoken word - it freed the audience to begin to use the information in non-linear ways. In essence it became much easier to see that B did not have to follow A.
The article rang a bell with me for two reasons, firstly, like the author and many of the people he interviewed I was a voracious reader who quite happily devoured long, complicated books, or articles in a single totally absorbed session.
The difference is - despite spending at least as much time online enmeshed in the internet as any of the people in the article - I still read that way. So *I* haven’t experienced the sense of losing that ability to concentrate he describes.
The second reason is to do with that fact that - as a professional writer - I know how much the internet has changed my work, and to some extent my life - I don’t have to remember the pithy quote, the fun fact, or the relevant statistic - I can look it up, anywhere, anytime. That means I have much more time for actually constructing an interesting and well written piece… But - I no longer rely on my own ability to remember things - and how can I tell if the information I find is right?
What do you think - is the internet changing the way you think? Is it better or worse?
Is Google making us stupid?
4 responses so far ↓
tysdaddy // June 11, 2008 at 2:26
Interesting post.
I too like the way the internet has made the writer’s file obsolete in some ways. I still copy and store interesting stuff I find in books, stuff that may not be available in their entirety online. But, yeah, when it comes to finding out what a reviewer said or what album a song was on or where this or that author lived, then the internet is a helpful tool.
But, like you, I still love to read a book. I considered getting a Kindle once, but I would miss the smell and feel of books too much. Maybe that’s my age talking, perhaps not.
Stupid? No.
beatonl // June 11, 2008 at 2:39
Ahh - well, as a absolutely committed reader I have to say one of my *most* loved gadgets is the Sony Reader PRS - 505 .
I’m about to go overseas for 4 weeks and I can take all the books I want on one device that’s about the size of a paperback, sure - it won’t replace books in my life - but boy does it have a place.
tysdaddy // June 11, 2008 at 4:48
Agreed. I was considering the Kindle for work, where carrying a bunch of books wasn’t an option.
Alas, the price was the clincher.
I also considered the Sony Reader at one point, mainly for the ability to take .pdf files along to school and whatnot, but I just couldn’t take the plunge.
I just don’t like the idea of not owning a physical copy of a book . . .
beatonl // June 11, 2008 at 5:23
Hehe see there are some books I read (trashy airport novels I’m looking at you!) Where I’m quite happy to not have the physical book - cause really these books are the literary equivalent of MacDonalds - once you’ve finished it - you’d rather not be reminded of it.
The other thing I’ve noticed is, because paper books are so expensive here in Australia I’m really reluctant to try a new author. But the ebooks are pretty cheap in comparison - so I’ll try something new much more happily. And if it turns out to be really good - I’ll buy the paper book as well.
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