Is Google Making us Stupid? Part 2

Brett Stinson 

RWS 100 

Professor Werry

The past century has provided the earth with a massive technological landslide in the form of cell phones, radios and what many describe as the leading advancement of our civilization, The Internet. After the Internets public release it has provided an everyday citizen with access to the largest library in the world known as the World Wide Web. Although the Internet started out as a source that rarely provided success with slow and glitchy servers, and very few had a viable source of access, it awed the public audience as it was something that no one could have ever imagined coming into existence. Today the internet is bustling with high speeds and more websites than you could visit in a lifetime, ranging from how to bake a cake to how to solve quantum mechanics, the possibilities of the internet are endless. Although the internet has created a golden brick road leading to endless answers, it has stirred up great controversy. In 2008 the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” was written by Nicholas Carr discusses the worldwide debate on whether the internet is doing more good for the public or is it dimming us down. Carrs main argument is that the internet has created a negative effect on the human brain as it has caused it to be always wanting more information more rapidly and it causes the mind to always become distracted and thinking about other things. In this paper I will explore the rhetorical strategies implemented in Carr's argument and discuss whether he has created a persuasive argument.

One of the most efficient tools implemented by Carr is the usage of Big Name comparisons, the main one being the references often made to the film 2001: A Space Odyssey mainly during the scene where David Bowman is disassembling the artificial intelligence known as HAL. He uses this scene as a comparison to how the internet is "tinkering with [his] brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory"(Carr 1). In this comparison Carr is describing how he is similarly suffering the same cognitive effects as he attempts to immerse himself in longer texts but cannot succeed. This comparison provides a good base for his argument, especially for those who have viewed the film, as it provides pathos as some find themselves in the same predicament that HAL and Carr are in. The specific comparison not only provided a stable emotional connection between the reader and the subject Carr is addressing, but it also provided a connection between the movie as a whole. It provides a larger connection as HAL in the film is controlling the passengers on the spacecraft the same way that the internet is controlling and manipulating the users. By utilizing the techniques of comparing Carr’s argument to a Big Name that many can compare to allows the reader to immerse themselves in a deeper level of the argument as it provides them with a sense of pathos.

One of the strongest tools used by Carey that gives his argument a chance against those who oppose it is the use of prolepsis. Prolepsis is a very strong tool when writing a persuasive piece as it takes the counterarguments and addresses them in his favor before anyone can retaliate against his own work. This is a very important tool also because Carr is arguing against the internet which most people find to be beneficial, so Carr is holding onto the short end of the stick in his argument and will need to find as many ways to prevent himself from being argued against. One key points in Carr’s article is when he states:

“Most of the arguments made against the printing press were correct, even prescient.” But, again, the doomsayers were unable to imagine the myriad blessings that the printed word would deliver.(Carr 6)

He argues that past intellectuals have criticized the new inventions such as the printing press and the introduction of writing but in the end, these inventions proved to have a positive impact on society. This section of his argument is key as it addresses his audience directly and states that he is a man such as Plato and Squarciafico who criticize these new glorious inventions, and while they were right about what they had stated, the wonders overcame the worries. This was a very persuasive section as it had turned away his criticizers as he is saying that he doesn’t believe that in the end the internet won't come out to be this glorious innovation, but instead he is just saying that he has many worries about what the internet will do to our civilization in the short run.