Is Google Making Us Stupid?

September 17, 2010

What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains

Nicholas Carr wrote a cover story for the Atlantic Monthly magazine in the summer of 2008 that raised the provocative question, "Is Google Making Us Stupid". The complete article can be accessed online, and it makes for fascinating reading. Carr cites anecdotal material that indicates our mental habits have altered to the point that we have almost totally lost the ability to read and absorb a longish article on the web or in print.

Neurological science is providing research that suggests we may well be in the middle of a sea of change in the way we read and think. We have learned that the human brain is very plastic and almost infinitely malleable. The process of adapting to new intellectual technologies, thanks to our brain's plasticity, affects our brain at a biological level.

Carr has since written a book The Shallows that expands on his article. The book and the article are compelling, and I highly recommend both. What do you think? Have you noticed a change in how you concentrate or read? Your comments are welcome.

Beverly D.
Riverside Branch