On The Internet Essay Example
On The Internet Essay Example

On The Internet Essay Example

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In the articles, "Does the internet make you smarter" by Clay Shirky supporter of literacy by internet and, "Does the internet make you dumber", by Nicholas Carr unsupporter of literacy by internet, portrays that each article have different points of views regarding the internet making us smarter or dumber. Clay Shirky uses more historical examples of texts that were written in the form of books way before there was Internet. Nicholas Carr uses more proven statistics and psychological information in his article, to persuade his audience. In the next paragraphs I will compare and contrast both Nicholas Carr and Clay Shlrkys rticle.

In Nicholas Carr article, he addresses that the internet does not make you smarter, instead it makes your attention span shorter and you become more distracted, Carr Identifies scientific studies sugg

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esting this Is not only his opinion, but statistically proven by evidence collected. Nicholas Carr also relates to the Nobel Prize winning Duncan 2 Neuroscientist Erick Kandell as well as roman philosopher Seneca. In addition, Nicholas Carr uses Rhetorical appeal to logos or reason by referring in his article, the Internet to being "shallow'.

Carr uses this sense f reason to Influence the reader by referencing several dfferent studies completed by Cornell University as well as Stanford university supporting his article. In his article "Does the Internet make you dumber by using emotion to make the reader believe is he or she does not agree with these statements they may be shallow or less Intelligent. In opposition to Carr, Clay Shirky believes that the Internet Is making us smarter because he thinks that the Internet Is an easy way to search for

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Information.

Shirky also believes that we are no more evolved to read books than the internet, and 1 OFA utilize it. However Clay Shirky counters, he identifies the internet as a positive cognitive tool for individuals to use, he uses the past media revolution and how individuals saw the progress from carving on rocks to other means as compared to the present media revolution to provide reason of logos or claims to the reader. This provides the reader understanding that some things, which seem unreasonable prior to maybe seen as necessary in the future.

Clay Shirky uses pathos or emotion towards the reader by flattering the reader's sense of self, by referring the internet to be cognitively constructive materials as well as thought rovoking he makes the reader feel a sense of positive reinforcement despite the criticism brought by Nicholas Carr. Mr. Shirkys article also addresses ethos on the trust me approach by using counter claims to the statements made by other authors stating the internet is not providing a cognitive approach and is only a series of pop- ups and distractions.

Duncan 3 Nicholas Carr also argues that reading helps mental discipline. Carr acknowledges that when we're constantly distracted and interrupted, as we tend to be online, our brains are unable to forge the strong and expansive eural connections that give depth and distinctiveness to our thinking. We become mere signal processing units, quickly shepherding disjointed bits of information into and then out of short-term memory. Carr illustrates how the Internet is making us more superficial as thinkers.

He also states how the internet is an information rich environment that the net creates for

us and that's why we use it so much, he refers to words, sounds, pictures, texts and what this tends to do for us is promote a sort of compulsive behavior which we're constantly checking our smartphone, constantly lancing at our e-mail inbox, and we are living in this perpetual state of distraction and interruption which is dangerous according to Carr because that mode of thinking, crowds out the more contemplate and calmer mode of thinking, and that focused calmed thinking is actually how we learn.

That is a process is named memory consolidation. That means that the process of information from our short term working memory to our long term memory and its through moving information from your working memory to your long term memory that you create connections between that information and everything else you know. Carr believes that "attention is the key, and if we loose control of our attention or are constantly dividing our attention then we don't really enjoy that consolidation process".

I disagree with this quote because I believe that we can also enjoy that consolidation process while being on the Internet because you also have to chance to learn online as well as learning with books. On the contrary as Shirky vividly illustrates he compares the advent of the Internet to that of movable type, which initially made for a flood of amateur literature but ultimately had "the effect of increasing, rather than Duncan 4 output of society. " Shirky additionally uses logos by identifying the Internet as a producing item, rather than a consuming activity.

By this he displays despite the Distractions the Internet is providing individuals

the opportunity to produce materials. He portrays that individuals are becoming more intellectual by producing things such as posting blogs, communicating on social networking cites, and downloading materials, which is more productive than Just sitting watching television. I most certainly agree with Clay Shirkys article, rather than Nicholas Carr's Article. I think that the Internet is making us smarter, and you can search information Regarding on any subject.

The Internet helps us people to learn things that we do not know of. We can also search for information from the comfort of our home and even from the Palm of your hand, which is a faster way to obtain information. According to My first Source [A new survey of 1,021 technology experts and critics, hyper connectivity is a Mixed bag. Fifty five percent of those surveyed agreed that the Internet has wired the Under- 35 crowd differently and that this rewiring are a good thing, timulating Multitasking talent and an ability to find relevant information online.

But 42 percent of Experts believe that that hyper connected brain is shallow, with an unhealthy dependence On the Internet and mobile devices. ] According to my second source [Clay Shirky thinks the web "will fuel the intellectual having diverted young people away from the television and onto a medium where reading and writing is essential. Eventually, the "throwaway' material at the Internet will get thrown away and the collaborative and imaginative potential of the web will be realized. So does the Internet make us smarter or dumber? As a conclusion to this essay, many have different viewpoints on this issue.

The emotional debate regarding both of these terms

could go on and on. Is the Internet making us smarter? Or is the Internet Duncan 5 making us dumber? Lies between the individuals. I believe the Internet and how we use it provide cognitive measure and excels society with a plethora of information. The Internet as well as social networking sites have positive attributes, but as well have negative results. If used for the purpose the Internet was originally created for it would benefit society greatly by enabling individuals to have ontact across nations and the ability to communicate with almost anyone.

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