Wednesday, May 11, 2011

My Response to "World Wide Weakness" by Nina

In the blog post "World Wide Weakness", the author Nina talks about technology and how it can be possibly viewed as dumbing down our minds.  She specifically talks about how the internet " removes the need for difficult memorization and complex thinking because it contains unlimited sources of information".  This is an interesting argument that she makes and there is evidence to support her assertions.
 It is indeed a fact that the Internet gives access to a wealth of information that many of use on a daily basis. Research projects are much easier to do today than they have ever been because of that access.  But I believe her assertion are more complicated than what has been revealed.
She mentions in her first sentence that the human brain needs constant stimulation to keep functioning at a healthy level.  When she had to look up the answers of parts of a crossword puzzle she felt she was cheating and cheapening the experience.  But even if you're able to find the answers online, isn't there still stimulation going on once you have the realization of the answer fitting the clue?
Also, the Internet can't be used as a crutch in school.  You won't be able to use Google to search for the answers to the history exam right in front of you.   Yes, you may be able to use Google to study for the test but it will be up to you to ingrain the information into your mind.  Nina isn't necessarily wrong in her thought that the Internet can be a huge crutch in the development of our mind, its just a more complicated argument with more avenues of thought.

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