[theoconbrio]

Is the Internet making us stupid(er)?

Probably an obvious question. Just sayin'.

http://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/399/computing_the_cost

The money quote:

If you cherish the ability to concentrate deeply and be reflective, you need to set aside time to read and think every day, so that those circuits in your brain don’t get erased.

 

[dweck]

Couldn't finish the article -- too long.

Off to YouTube!

 

[Labs4life]

Yes

 

[MidwestGirl]

D'oh!!!

 

[dweck]

Shh. Watching Huckleberry Hound.

 

[MidwestGirl]

Shh. Watching Huckleberry Hound.

I love HH

 

[gailatmsu]

Shh. Watching Huckleberry Hound.

That sounds better than the Suite Life of Zach and Cody that my boys are subjecting me to right now.

 

[Princess Zoe]

Yes and so is spell check. I hate when libraries tell me that their students just use Google. They should know better and that it's not an authoritative source!

 

[Melissa]

I don't know about stupid, but it's definitely making me less productive.

 

[theoconbrio]

Yes and so is spell check. I hate when libraries tell me that their students just use Google. They should know better and that it's not an authoritative source!

I don't know. Spell check is to reading and writing as a calculator is to calculus. I don't think that good spelling is a sign of intelligence, although I do think you should know how to spell if you want your writing to be taken seriously.

I'm not sure what you mean by *libraries" telling you that "their students" "just" use Google. If you mean that librarians are telling students that it's OK to accept anything they find through Google, then that's obviously a problem. But there has been some research on Wikipedia, for example, that shows that some of its articles are more accurate than the Encyclopedia Britannica. Really, every high school student should be taught the criteria for evaluating sources critically. Whether it's published on paper or on the Web is kind of immaterial.

 

[dweck]

Shh! Watching a snake eating a tennis ball.....

 

[theoconbrio]

Where? WHERE????

 

[dweck]

Onto Peter Ustinov's 1956 colonoscopy.....

 

[Dukesdad]

In other words, we’re learning to substitute symbols of reality for reality itself.

I like that thought.
I think computers in general are making a lot of people dumber. We are becoming too dependent on modern technology. In my office the computers were shut down on the entire floor for 1/2 hour last week. People were just roaming the halls trying to figure out what to do.
Or the classic example. Check out of any fast food place and notice the cash register is just a keyboard with symbols for the various products. Your total is $3.46. Try handing the clerk $4.04 and see what happens. They will look at you like you're crazy.

 

[Tundra Aries]

I don't know about stupid, but it's definitely making me less productive.

Same here

 

[theoconbrio]

I don't know about stupid, but it's definitely making me less productive.

On the other hand, things like the Kindle really show amazing potential for building the habit of reading. Just imagine--you're on a train bound for parts unknown, nothing to do, and you think, "You know, I really need to read Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia!" You go on your Kindle, download it, and there you are! 400 pages of excruciatingly dull Renaissance prose poem.

But you'd still have to be motivated to read.

 

[Nick]

Of course not. I can find an answer to any question online without having to think about the question.

 

[BigBrownDog]

I think the internet is not all that different than television - there is a tremendous amount of worthwhile content and the potential for broadening knowledge and understanding is unlimited. But most people will not take advantage of that and will use the Internet like they use TV - entertainment and time wasting.

 

[kaisdad]

And then there are those who think that just because it's on the interweb, it must be true.

 

[myfavoritedog]

And then there are those who think that just because it's on the interweb, it must be true.

You mean its not!!??