"Is Google Making Us Stupid?" Nicholas Carr

      In this essay, Nicholas Carr writes about his belief that Google (as well as other technology) is in reality, hurting us. With Google, we have the availability to "google" anything that we need to know, instantly. With this capability, we do not need to put as much stress on remembering anything, because if you forget, simply google it again. Carr mentions that he has noticed a lack of focus while he reads, and he believes that the internet has created that habit. He talks about how its easier to simply read to only find the main idea instead of actual reading the entirety of some article or other literature for better understanding. Carr talks about how technology has gotten rid of much of the writing that we do. This is a problem because writing is actually a very efficient way of learning something. Writing something down helps you remember it easier.
      Google is not necessarily making us stupid. We get distracted while on the internet and by other technology, however it is a choice to focus on something else. Technology can and often does cause distraction. The ads, videos, links, and all the different ways to navigate around the internet, so our attention is jerked around from place to place, rapidly and chaotically. I have found myself watching viral videos when I actually logged on the this blog and was about to write. I googled the title of one our the essays we read to get a picture, when I searched, it took me to a list of websites, the first being a video with the title of the essay. So I clicked on it, and followed related links and etc, I soon was entirely off topic and had forgotten about the assignment. So while it is true that Google is effecting us negatively, I do not agree with the idea that it makes us stupid. Google seems to simply shorten our attention spans, which can have effects in it of itself.
     When Carr says "stupid" does he mean unintelligent? or simply that we do not focus or work as much?