The End Of Independence, Starring Google

Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" Atlantic Magazine. The Atlantic Monthly Group, July/Aug. 2008. Web. 18 Jan 2011.

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In the article, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" Nicholas Carr begins by describing how over the past few years he has began to feel like the web has made his attention span dwindle. He uses the example that he can't read any long article or book and stay focused. He also describes how the internet is useful in research and how it has helped him with his career in writing. He uses the argument that the Net has replaced our train of thought, meaning we don't have to deeply think about something because all the answers are a click away after a simple Google search. He also talks about Bruce Friedman who says "even a blog post of more than three or four paragraphs is too much to absorb. I skim it." Carr uses this to show that he is not the only one who feels this way. He also describes how the brain is very malleable, even as adults. Frederick Winslow Taylor created a system that made factory work across the world perfect. He timed every single movement to maximize production. The Internet, Carr says, is based on this principle because of its "automated collection, transmission, and manipulation of information." Nicholas Carr is clearly worried the World will "come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into artificial intelligence."

Nicholas Carr’s opinion is crucial to the audience because it opens their mind to a very valid point in today’s society. He understands that he himself does the same thing. That is he can’t concentrate on long literature, but instead he has began to read short articles and often scans. To Nicholas, Google and the Internet as a whole is to blame because of the relative ease it proposes with search engines that consists of virtually anything. Nicholas Carr's point of this article is to present the point that has realized the hard way. He wants the reader to realize that Google is slowly taking over everybody’s minds because it has substituted for our brains. This is because the Internet helps us do less work by not having to research in libraries. Carr's point of view is significant because he wants to help America and the World start using their brains instead of Google and the Internet. He wants us to begin reading books, and actually paying attention to what we are reading. Carr has presented this article because of the boom the Internet has taken. Nearly everybody knows how to work the Internet and it's clear Carr is afraid that through time, we will become more dependent on the Internet until we don't use our brain at all. This article can relate to a majority of the World, that is simply what makes it as significant as it is.