In Nicholas Carr's 'Is Google Making Us Stupid?', Carr develops the theory that
technology can have negative effects when it comes to retaining knowledge. He provides
numerous instances where people had had difficulty reading and focusing for longer periods of
time. By having a device capable of acquiring information in a matter of seconds, it seems as
though people are less likely to concentrate or ponder about the knowledge they have recently
gained. Carr suggests that the vast amount of information on the internet is causing people to
change their way of thinking. It appears as though Carr is warning society of the dangers
technology and the effects it has on our way of learning through the use of testimony from
experts in the literary field. Throughout his essay, Carr does an excellent job of making his claim
and supporting that claim with strong evidence and thorough explanations. Carr is able to convey
his negative view of the internet through his implementation of Kairos and the Stasis Theory.

Early on in the essay, Carr provides an instance where a former literature major begins to
show signs of decline when it came to gathering information. 'What if I do all my reading on the
web not so much because the way I read has changed, i.e. I'm just seeking convenience, but
because the way I THINK has changed?'. What he means by this statement is
perhaps that his motivation for learning has transformed. Efficiency appears to have done away
with the gradual process of research and therefore causing society to become less likely to retain
and comprehend information. By being exposed to this incredibly efficient way of attaining
information, the individual has a much more difficult time staying focused and appears to lose
patience. Carr is using this example in order to reveal the potential dangers of being spoiled by
technology.

Carr provides yet another example of the alteration of thinking when quoting a
pathologists from the University of Michigan Medical School. 'I now have almost totally lost
the ability to read and absorb a longish article on the web or in print.'(Bruce Friedman) Once
again, Carr is allowing the audience to see that even a great intellects have shown signs of
suffering from the advances in technology. Ironically enough, technology is usually associated
with positive attributes such as improvements; however, Carr claims that the technology in this
case can have negative consequences. Nowadays, efficiency has become more important than
actually comprehending the material through the gradual process of research.

Carr continues to make his claim that the mind itself has evolved to being much more
erratic after being exposed to the internet. 'I get fidgety, lose the thread, [and] begin looking for
something else to do,' he says. The amount of information taken in by the user is almost
overwhelming, and because of this, the human mind fails to process the facts completely. He
supports this by mentioning how '' hyperlinks don't merely point to related works; they propel
you toward them.' Carr not only backs up his claims
through detailed observations, but as well as numerous sources of scientific studies conducted
such as the one at the University of London.
It is clear that users are not reading online in the traditional sense; indeed there are signs
that new forms of 'reading' are emerging as users 'power browse' horizontally through
titles, contents pages and abstracts going for quick wins. It almost seems that they go
online to avoid reading in the traditional sense.
Carr provides these key pieces of evidence that contribute greatly to his central argument that the
internet has altered the way humans interpret and process information.

The timing of this issue is key due to the recent advances of the internet. The internet
itself has only been around for a couple of decades. Therefore, by introducing this potential
problem with technology now, we could perhaps find a resolution before Carr's theory becomes
reality. Also, he seems to address this issue in an urgent manner, through numerous examples of
intellectuals of whom appear to be failing to retain the focus and comprehension of information
had before becoming heavily involved in using the internet. Carr is also able to make the
audience aware of this issue through examples of great 'thinkers' and their difficulties with
retaining knowledge due to the internet. Also, Carr allows the audience to be aware through
referencing popular technologies of the current day.
The Internet promises to have particularly far-reaching effects on cognition. In a paper
published in 1936, the British mathematician Alan Turing, proved that a digital computer,
which at the time existed only as a theoretical machine, could be programmed to perform
the function of any other information-processing device. And that's what we're seeing
today. The Internet, an immeasurably powerful computing system, is subsuming most of
our other intellectual technologies.
Due to the invention of the internet, previous devices such as televisions, radios, clocks, and
other devices appear to lose their importance. One can easily see his negative view on the
dangers of replacing old styles of research with efficiency.

In this essay, Carr does an exceptional job of implementing the basic components of the
Stasis Theory in order to improve the quality of his work. Throughout the essay, he is able to lay
out his argument and support each claim with facts to strengthen the overall argument. He
acknowledges that this is a serious issue in today's society due to the fact that it relates to the
cognitive functions of the human body. What impressed me about this essay was how Carr was
able to structure his argument so there would not be a clear point to dispute. The argument is not
about whether or not one should use the internet; however, he warns the audience of the mind's
potential side effects due to long-term exposure to the internet. By doing this, he is more likely to
persuade the audience by not having a clear counter-argument and thus increasing his chances of
establishing common ground among the readers.

Advances in technology are almost always taken in a positive connotation. However, by
focusing solely on improving efficiency, certain consequences in the way we learn may occur.
Carr reveals to the audience the dangers of living in the current era controlled by computers.
Throughout the essay, Carr is able to convey his negative view on how society is evolving into a
Google-reliant state.

