"Curiouser and Curiouser"

                In Roger Scruton’s article “Curiouser and Curiouser” (Nov 2011), he argues that we are being controlled by technological devices.  Scruton supports his argument by laying out how we are becoming dumber by electronic gadgets, where we are not thinking for ourselves but letting our ipads, ipods, iphones, etc.  do the thinking for us. Scruton further elaborates that we have no more privacy and morality is in decline due to technology.  Scruton talks about the impact of the fast pace of technological advancement,  in order for readers to take note that we are not merely keeping up with technology, but we are “caught up” or trapped in technology. The intended audience is people who believe that technology can only be an asset to our daily lives, not a liability.

                I agree with Scuton’s argument that the fast moving technological advancement has captured some people and is holding them hostage, but on the other hand some people have gained more mobility and are able to compete better with technology.

                Scruton’s argument shows how we are not using our brain, but becoming dependent on our electronic devices to think for us.  We use them as our brain and babysitter.  We also share our private information and images that we think is somewhat safe in cyberspace, but can be hacked and opened up by someone else.  It could be ‘big brother” or the computer geek a few houses down from you.  Scruton shows that there is a thin line between privacy and publicity in the world of technology.  Scruton argues that we don’t think that it is immoral to steal other people’s information and access their e-mails because technology has made it so where just a few strokes on a keyboard brings us into someone else’s world.  It’s so easy, so why not?  The temptation is strong, like placing a delicious looking cake in front of someone who’s on a diet – he/she is likely to taste it.  Whether or not they will feel guilty afterwards is all up to their state of consciousness.  Scruton continues to support his argument by stating that our information is no longer locked in a file cabinet where it is not easily accessible, but is now being stored on gadgets that can get misplaced, lost, or the access code ends up in the wrong hands.  Scruton says that “We are caught in the worldwide web like flies, wriggling in the suffocation bonds of communication.  And we don’t know the way back; we are sitting at our desks, but far, far indeed from home.”  The impact of the information age has made us so dependent that we are becoming creatures of habit, rather than ascending to our higher thought process which, in turn, will give us greater authority over our lives and thought process. Our reality is now becoming “fuzzy”  spiraling out of control into the myriad of unconscious cyberspace.  Scruton shows that we are not the controllers of our electronic devices, but we are being controlled by them. However, Scruton should have expounded on the positive effects of technology and the people who made it possible. People such as Philip Emeagwali, Dr. Mark Dean, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are just a few that have made technological advancements that have had a very positive impact on our society.  We can surf the web whether at home or on the go and look up the price of a product , as well as learn about mathematics and science just to name a couple of the positive impact that technology has had on our lives.  

How Stupid is Google Making Us?

            In William Badke’s online article, “How Stupid is Google Making Us” (2010), Badke argues that search engines, such as Google is not making us stupid, but is impeding us from using all of our brain’s capacity.  Badke strongly supports his argument by delving into the “ibrain” research which measured the brain function of people who were avid internet users and people who were new users of the internet.  Badke’s purpose is to show the negative impact of using the internet everyday for research, in order to make us aware that we are not using most if not all of our brain power to think analytically.  The intended audience for this article is people who don’t think that there are any negative impacts associated with the internet, especially students, teachers and professors who think that everyday usage of the internet for research is “all good”. 

            I agree with Badke’s argument. We are not using our brain to its full capacity due to technological advancement.    

            Badke argues that we are not stupid, but are becoming a society that desire more and more to just push a button to get instant results.  As a result the part of our brain that would think through to break down and analyze is not being utilized to its full capacity, so we are becoming “doers” and not “thinkers”.  Badke strongly argues that we don’t spend enough time on research, therefore we are not corroborating the accuracy of online sources and information, but just accepting it as is.  We receive information from search engines, such as Google but we don’t take the time to ponder on whether it’s the correct information.  We are becoming less studious and more robotic – acting on command, but not thinking about why we are doing what we are doing and if whether the information is valid.   Badke shows that in the “ibrain” research, the internet savvy users used their short-term memory by capturing “quick information”.  Badke is not saying that we are becoming stupid, but he is asserting that we are not using the part of the brain that stores long-term memory, and that the only way to gain access into the part of the brain that stores long-term memory is to begin by doing in-depth reading. Badke suggests that a solution would be to make research more appealing to students by posing certain questions that will enact the brain into a deep thought process. Also, with the help of teachers Badke asserts that more work should be given from the actual books and not from online reading sources.  If the reading is online, then it should be something that takes the student into deep thought and not just touch the surface of the brain.  This will allow students to not just take in information, but to understand it fully.  Badke argues that this can be accomplished, if we all do our part.  Technology and the use of search engines such as Google is not all bad, but just like eating, we have to have a balance.