Web Literacy 2 Homework part 2.
Based on the article: Is Google Making Us Stupid?
1. Why does the author, Nicholas Carr, feel like his mind is changing as a result of the Internet?
Nicholas Carr feels like his mind is changing due to the Internet because the Internet is almost making things less challenging and more effortless for him. He used to do plenty of research but the Internet allows him to access links and copy and paste information onto his work without even reading it.

2. How does doing research today compare with doing research in a library in the old days, before the Internet? (I know you weren't around 20 years ago, but answer this based on what knowledge you have gathered about libraries in your lifetime).
Research today (on the Internet) is definitely different from the "old days" because of the technology we have invented. Back then, people actually looked for and learned information from books and the library. Now kids today rely on iPads to write their notes or apps on iPhones to find information.

3. How have Nicholas Carr's reading habits changed because of the Internet?
Nicholas Carr's reading habits have changed because he can't focus on long pieces of literature. The Internet does everything so fast and almost efficiently however, it destroys the attention span of a human being when they are actually reading something without the Internet.

4. How is reading online different than reading a long article or book? Is there a difference? Explain.
Reading online is different than reading a long article or book because for some reason, the Internet has more flair. If you get tired of reading something on the Internet, you can search for something else or click on a different link. If you were locked in a room with ONLY one book to read, you would lose interest and doze off, thinking of something else than the words directly in front of you.

5. Do you agree or disagree that our minds think like computers? Explain.
I both agree and disagree that our minds think like computers. Computers have a lot of different apps or locations upon one screen. The keyboard types what we think we want to search and, like a person thinks of a certain topic, the computer screen shows us that topic. Since it is all over the place, it is disorganized information like the human mind when it is under stress. The only different is the emotions that our minds can feel that a computer can not.

6. Do you agree or disagree that the computer "is subsuming most of our other intellectual technologies?"
Yes the computer is subsuming most of our other intellectual technologies because our minds literally change or maybe lose focus as we look at the screen of a computer. They offer ten sites of information and our mental capacity is absorbed as we read the information that could be false or true. Our brains are so into the stuff we see on the computer, we don't prepare ourselves for the real world. We can't ace tests from just reading from the computer and we can't socially interact in person if we just text over social media. Basically, the Internet takes our capability to do anything without technology.

7. Why do you think The New York Times changed its format? Do you think it was a good idea or a bad idea? Why?
The new York Times changed its format because it wanted to advertise more things on the website like every site does. This is a good idea because it helps market the organization a bit more, but bad idea because those ads can cause viruses.

8. What does Nicholas Carr mean by "knowledge work?"
Nicholas Carr meant to say "knowledge work" as in to say that the computer is advancing to be like our mentality or better. It's advancing to know so much, people can't use their brains anymore because they rely a lot on the computer. That "knowledge work" is that the computer will make itself for reliable than our minds when their are no computers around.

9. Do you agree or disagree that Google has been successful in its mission "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful?"
Google has somewhat been successful in its mission. Some of the sites are thoroughly accurate or they can be completely false.

10. How does Google's mission compare with a library's mission in light of the fact that there is no fiction or nonfiction section on the Internet, but there is a fiction and a nonfiction section in a library, and that all the books are organized on the shelves in a library, but "scattered on the floor" of the Internet?

A library's information is more organized. It has anime sections, nonfiction sections, fiction sections, classic sections, mystery, sci-fi, biography and young adult. Meanwhile, the Internet has information "scattered on the floor" because it's not organized.
11. Do you think it would be a good thing if your own brain and intelligence were "supplemented, or even replaced, by an artificial intelligence?"
No, I don't think it would be a good thing if my intelligence was replaced by an artificial intelligence. People can have answers for academic problems, but they couldn't figure out the problems of life (mistakes, social, romance, etc...)

12. Do you think that the human brain is "just an outdated computer that needs a faster processor and a bigger hard drive?" Why or why not?
No, the human brain is more original. Yes, it does take time to develop and learn new things, but at the very least it is original. If the human mind was altered, the world or the individual would not be better.
13. What do you think about your own surfing habits, the links you click on and the pages you view, being an opportunity for "Google and other companies to collect information about you and to feed you advertisements?"
I honestly don't know how to respond to that. It's almost a violation of privacy to who people are away from the outside world, but it's nice that the computer remembers to keep it bookmarked for us.
14. How does the above compare to reading a book? Do you agree or disagree that companies online, collecting data about us by what we click on and view, are using subversive tactics to discourage "leisurely reading," and "slow, concentrated thought?" Are you yourself driven to distraction while on the Web? How or how not?

I agree companies give us online stories to decrease our focus because of the business and publicity they receive. We are driven to distraction because of how much information and attractions these sites have.
15. Do you agree with Socrates that the development of writing led to people using the written word as a substitute for the knowledge they carried around in their heads? Why or why not?
Yes, I almost agree with this statement. People will lose the memory of the knowledge inside their own heads if we only focus on the information given to us by a different source. However, writing at least gives us writers a sense of concentration and logic.

16. Do you think the Internet is doing the same thing? Why or why not? How or how not?
The Internet is actually doing the same thing. Take Google Translate for example. Not every translation that site has to offer is right. If we copy everything from that website onto a foreign language assignment, there is a 50% possibility most of it is wrong. If we use what WE learned on the assignment, there is a bigger possibility of getting a good grade.

17. How do your own reading habits compare to what Nicholas Carr describes in this article?
My reading habits have not actually been like Nicholas Carr's. I do read some stories on the Internet, however I limit myself and correct my habits by picking up an actual book.
18. So, do you think Google really is making us stupid? Why or why not? How or how not?
Google is making us stupid by changing how we think in real life. Thanks to Google, we don't have our own reasoning, logic, knowledge or opinions. We are basically walking computers or will be if this continues.