The Evolution of Thinking
Internet Making Our Brains Different, Not Dumb
Say
In this text Suzanne Choney argues that the internet is not necessarily making us "dumb" it is just changing the way we learn and take in information. This is a new way of thinking that we have never had before, so naturally society believes it will make us dumb but in reality it is enhancing our intelligence, just in a different way. Choney states, ""What the Net does is shift the emphasis of our intelligence, away from what might be called a meditative or contemplative intelligence and more toward what might be called a utilitarian intelligence. The price of zipping among lots of bits of information is a loss of depth in our thinking.”
Mean
- Are all people going to be able to "transition" into this new way of thinking?
- Will we become a society that will hide behind their technology because they have the option of anonymity over the internet?
- Will handwriting/ writing things out become illegiable or non-existent all together?
- Will the internet only make already smart people smart? Will it depend on the user?
Matter
Possible outcomes of the increase in technology is that it will change the way we think, interact, and how we process information. This non-traditional format of learning will allow us to expand our knowledge and therefore change how we learn and grow our intelligence. Also, we will meet and talk over devices and the internet, and the face to face contact we use now will diminish. Being able to have access to any and all information at our fingertips will change how we take in information and view it. Instead of looking in death at information in front of us we will become more adapted to skimming through and only learning what is necessary for us.
This shift matters because we are the generation that is living through this transformation and in a way are the Guinea pigs of this change, in which scientists are watching us to see if this will be a positive or negative change.It is important because this is our future and how we will one day interact and live out lives.
The significance of this piece is that overall, the internet is not making us dumb, it is simply evolutionaizing the way we think and instead of thinking so negatively about the internet and technology, we should be more open minded to it and the possible benefits that could come along with the change.