The Value of the Internet to our Knowledge and Thinking - Essay Example

The Value of the Internet to our Knowledge and Thinking Introduction The topic of the value of the internet to our knowledge and thinking is contentious. A section of scholars agrees that that the Internet has been beneficial to our knowledge and thinking. However, others refute this line of argument claiming that it has impaired our mental capacity and added little value to our thinking. Among the critics include Nicholas Carr, who has explored the impact of the internet and other technologies to our mental processes. According to Nicholas Carr, the internet has eroded the reliance on human senses. He explains this by recounting how the mechanical clocks have alienated time from human events (Carr 132). Today people rely largely on science and technologies to make a decision. We rely on the mechanical clock to decide on when to work or to sleep rather than our senses. Carr further notes that the price that we human pay for our over-reliance on technology is alienation. Technology has had a toll on our intellectual capacity and thus numbing our reasoning ability, memory, perception and emotion (Carr 132). Technology may seem as beneficial but, on the contrary, it weakens our mental and cognitive processes. Moreover, this perhaps explains why most of the brightest minds were largely present before this information age. In the medieval years, our forefathers were more knowledgeable and perhaps smarter since they largely relied on their senses rather than on some technology. To this extent, Carr provides a valid argument that is factual and substantiated. The internet is valuable to our knowledge but at the same time obstructs our thinking process. The internet is a broad and intricate network of interlinked computers. The exponential growth of this huge, artificial information system has been a significant factor that motivates research scientists to adopt a new angle on how they view the human brain. According to Carr, the brain is highly adaptable since it can imagine the mechanics of using a new technology even before the technology exists (Carr 129). Apparently, the human brain and the internet have a lot of similarities. For starters, they both are highly non-random interconnected network that enhance the communication between distant elements. Such a similarity may seem remarkable given the huge disparity between the two. One possibility provided by scientists is that fact that both the internet and human brain have evolved to meet the general fitness measure. Both the human brain and the internet are highly effective in processing information and can rapidly adapt. Therefore, a network with such a capacity at the end tends to look alike. The human brain is more like a muscle. The more one exercises it the stronger, flexible and versatile it becomes. The internet can be likened to a weight training machines for the brain while books are analogous to free weights. Each avenue has its merits, but when used efficiently one works the brain harder. Weight machines are more directive as they persuade a person to think that he or she has worked harder though with minimal effort. The same case applies to the internet, it usually shows us what we think we know and while misinforming us at the same time. On the other hand, knowledge is quite different from information. The internet provides access to raw information that is unparalleled and supreme. Today, elite learning institutions have digitized their libraries. Technologies in which kids are increasingly using keyboards and keypads have impaired the ability to write today culture (Carr 130). The argument that such technologies impair writing and reading is controversial and contentious. Some studies attribute the improvement of writing and reading skills to these technologies. Most people read online on these digitized libraries although the term often used is surfing. The internet is increasingly becoming the treasure reserve for rare books and other academic documents that can be freely accessed. Therefore, the internet certainly valuable and beneficial to the human knowledge and provide an avenue for education and not just an avenue for misinformation and false statistics. Technology has greatly enhanced the human knowledge and changed our thinking habits. Currently, people depend largely on the internet for knowledge. For instance, most people rely on the GPS devices for navigation unlike in the ancient year when mental maps allowed our forefather to explore their surroundings. According to Carr, this has probably affected our brain capacity to memorized events (Carr 132). The internet (technology) is no threat to the human brain rather it is an invigorating extension that serves the same significance as ancient technologies. The same revolutionary advances that experienced in the medieval years, for instance, the discovery of fire and how to read and write can be likened to the advent of the internet. Instead of focusing solely on the perceived impact of the internet on our thinking capacity we focus entirely on the potentially addictive sway of the internet. Conclusion The human brain is an adept social organ that highly adaptive. It can process new information and surroundings. Technology just among the many elements that could alter how fast our mind work. However, the evidence that technology could have a damaging effect on the brain power is infinitesimal. These technologies only provide access to multiple information sources thus providing a more efficient way of acquiring knowledge. Moreover, they provide a more successful platform for learning since they employ varying tools for maximum outcome. Anything that we encounter is likely to change our brain either in a good way or in a bad way (Kahneman). A person can choose to be inspired or become dismayed by his or her thinking based on the content that he or she reads. As the saying goes we are want to we eat, the same applies to the human brain, it is shaped by what it is accustomed to. So it is a fact that the technology (internet) is changing our thinking. The Internet has accustomed people to reading short articles rather than a whole book. The argument that it makes people think less is fallacious to a certain extent. If reading online journals at the expense of reading a book covering single subject is a loss, we gain greatly by connecting different ideas easily from different topics. But since technology (internet) is here to stay, determining how to respond is a more important issue to fixate on. No single medium will provide all forms of nourishment that the brain yearns for. The internet may be perceived in a great threat to an individual cognitive and mental power, but there is an option of stepping away from it. . It is also important to acknowledge the fact that the internet (technology) is a medium, not a message. It serves as an archive of knowledge and propaganda. Its weakness is its greatest desirable quality (Malala). It is unselective and unbiased on the grounds of the principle of inclusion. Any type information whether good or bad can find its way on the internet. More importantly, it does not discriminate those that have access to it. However, this trend is currently changing as companies and governments seek to gain control over it. Also important to note is that knowledge cannot be likened to power although it is undeniably a means to it. The concern is whether an individual plans to use the power conferred by the internet for good or for bad intention. Work Cited Carr, Nicholas. "A Thing like Me." (2010): 122-33. Print. Kahneman, Daniel. "From Thinking Fast and Slow." (2011): 134-144. Print. Malala, Yousafzai. "I Am Malala PDF Book By Malala Grow PK.com : Malala : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive." Internet Archive. Web. 9 Nov. 2015. Read More