Evil Will Always Triumph, Because Good Is Dumb!

 

     Is Google making us stupid?  It’s not that specific.  They are part of the problem, but one cannot blame them entirely.  We should hold technology as a whole accountable for our stupidity. 

      The search engine is just one consideration for societies increasing stupidity.  I equate the internet search engine to this; handing one an already finished Rubik’s Cube. 

Salesman: Say, you look like you could use an activity book with half the activities done.
Peter: Wow, that would save me half the time.
Salesman: Connect the dots? Ha! More like set the book down and have a beer.
Peter: You got yourself a deal. –FAMILY GUY

     Research is an equal part of the assignment.  One must use the brain to search, narrow, and process the information needed.  Research, causes the brain to think!  With the internet it seems this has gone completely out the widow.  Does anyone remember Encyclopedia Britannica, card catalogs, The Dewey Decimal System, and microfiche?  A time when one actually had to think about research to find the information needed.  Now, with search engines a few keywords here, a few clicks there, and you have a chocolate factory filled with goodies.  I use the internet for research, so this may seem hypocritical, but there is a void of satisfaction.  Search engines are like the Cliff’s Notes of modern times, the lazy way out.

    
     Research that once required days in the stacks of periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes.  A few GOOGLE searches, some quick clicks on hyperlinks, and I've got the telltale fact or pithy quote I was after. -Nicholas Carr


     It can be said even the common high school book report is dead.  Not necessarily the assignment, but the student attempting to actually read the book.  Why?  Here’s an example.  A teacher wants a two page report on The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde.  Why on earth would you take a day to read this literary classic, when there are so many other options?  You could do the following to make life far easier:

·         Download the audio book

·         Purchase the audio book

·         GOOGLE an abstract

·         Rent the movie (Dorian Gray 2009) (The Picture Of Dorian Gray 1945)

·         Wikipedia or any other online source that would provide a summary

    

   This does not pertain to just academics.  I loved to read (note the past tense); from comic books, to Stephen King novels, even Harry Potter.  Why curl up in a blanket next to the fire, when I can just get the audio books and lay in bed?  Why sacrifice my precious time when I can load the entire novel on my IPOD and cut the grass?  Simple, because I am lazy. 

     The more technology advances (to make our lives easier) the dumber we become.  Spell check, grammar check, voice recognition, the list goes on.  Skynet will soon run the world, and society will be filled with characters from Idiocracy.