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Is
Google
Making
Us
Stupid
?
is
a
2008
article
written
by
technologist
Nicholas
Carr
for
The
Atlantic
,
and
later
expanded
on
in
a
published
edition
by
W
.
W
.
Norton
.
The
book
investigates
the
cognitive
effects
of
technological
advancements
that
relegate
certain
cognitive
activities
—
namely
,
knowledge
-
searching
—
to
external
computational
devices
.
The
book
received
mainstream
recognition
for
interrogating
the
assumptions
people
make
about
technological
change
and
advocating
for
a
component
of
personal
accountability
in
our
relationships
to
devices
.
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Carr
begins
the
essay
by
saying
that
his
recent
problems
with
concentrating
on
reading
lengthy
texts
,
including
the
books
and
articles
that
he
used
to
read
effortlessly
,
stem
from
spending
too
much
time
on
the
Internet
.
He
suggests
that
constantly
using
the
Internet
might
reduce
one
’
s
ability
to
concentrate
and
reflect
on
content
.
He
introduces
a
few
anecdotes
taken
from
bloggers
who
write
about
the
transformation
in
their
reading
and
writing
habits
over
time
.
In
addition
,
he
analyzes
a
2008
study
by
University
College
London
about
new
“
types
”
of
reading
that
will
emerge
and
become
predominant
in
the
information
age
.
He
particularly
refers
to
the
work
of
Maryanne
Wolf
,
a
reading
behavior
scholar
,
which
includes
theories
about
the
role
of
technology
and
media
in
learning
how
to
write
new
languages
.
Carr
argues
that
while
speech
is
an
innate
ability
that
stems
directly
from
brain
structure
,
reading
is
conscious
and
taught
.
He
acknowledges
that
this
theory
has
a
paucity
of
evidence
so
far
,
but
refers
to
such
works
as
Wolf
’
s
Proust
and
the
Squid
,
which
discusses
how
the
brain
’
s
neurons
adapt
to
a
creature
’
s
environmental
demands
to
become
literate
in
new
problem
areas
.
The
Internet
,
in
his
opinion
,
is
just
another
kind
of
environment
that
we
will
uniquely
adapt
to
.
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Carr
discusses
how
concentration
might
be
impaired
by
Internet
usage
.
He
references
the
historical
example
of
Nietzsche
,
who
used
a
typewriter
,
which
was
new
during
his
time
in
the
1880s
.
Allegedly
,
Nietzsche
’
s
writing
style
changed
after
the
advent
of
the
typewriter
.
Carr
categorizes
this
example
as
demonstrative
of
neuroplasticity
,
a
scientific
theory
that
states
neural
circuits
are
contingent
and
in
flux
.
He
invokes
the
idea
of
sociologist
Daniel
Bell
that
technologies
extend
human
cognition
,
arguing
that
humans
unconsciously
conform
to
the
very
qualities
,
or
kinds
of
patterns
,
involved
in
these
devices
’
functions
.
He
uses
the
clock
as
an
example
of
a
device
that
has
both
improved
and
regulated
human
perception
and
behavior
.
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Carr
argues
that
the
Internet
is
changing
behavior
at
unprecedented
levels
because
it
is
one
of
the
most
pervasive
and
life
-
altering
technologies
in
human
history
.
He
suggests
that
the
Internet
engenders
cognitive
distractions
in
the
form
of
ads
and
popups
.
These
concentration
-
altering
events
are
only
worsened
by
online
media
as
they
adapt
their
strategies
and
visual
forms
to
those
of
Internet
platforms
to
seem
more
legitimate
and
trick
the
viewer
into
processing
them
.
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Carr
also
posits
that
people
’
s
ability
to
concentrate
might
decrease
as
new
algorithms
free
us
from
knowledge
work
;
that
is
,
the
process
of
manipulating
and
synthesizing
abstract
information
into
new
concepts
and
conclusions
.
He
compares
the
Internet
with
industrial
management
systems
,
tracing
how
they
caused
workers
to
complain
that
they
felt
like
automata
after
the
implementation
of
Taylorist
management
workflows
.
He
compares
this
example
with
the
modern
example
of
Google
,
which
places
its
computer
engineers
and
designers
into
a
systematized
knowledge
environment
,
creating
robust
insights
and
results
at
the
expense
of
creativity
.
Additionally
,
Carr
argues
that
the
Internet
makes
its
money
mainly
by
exploiting
users
’
privacy
or
bombarding
them
with
overstimulation
,
a
vicious
cycle
where
companies
facilitate
mindless
browsing
instead
of
rewarding
sustained
thinking
.
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Carr
ends
his
essay
by
tracing
the
roots
of
the
skeptic
trend
.
He
discusses
events
where
people
were
wary
about
new
technologies
,
including
Socrates
’
s
skepticism
about
the
use
of
written
language
and
a
fifteenth
-
century
Italian
editor
’
s
concern
about
the
shift
from
manually
written
to
printed
works
.
All
of
these
technologies
indelibly
changed
human
cognition
,
but
also
led
to
mind
-
opening
innovations
that
endure
today
.
Still
,
Carr
concludes
his
argument
on
an
ambivalent
note
,
citing
a
quote
by
Richard
Foreman
that
laments
the
erosion
of
educated
and
articulate
people
.
Though
Google
and
other
knowledge
-
finding
and
knowledge
-
building
technologies
might
speed
up
existing
human
computational
processes
,
they
might
also
foreclose
the
human
potential
to
easily
create
new
knowledge
.<
br
/><
br
/>[
Source
: 
https
://
en
.
wikipedia
.
org
/
wiki
/
Is_Google_Making_Us_Stupid
%
3F
#
Synopsis
]
p
>