Comments on: Some Sanity in the 'Web Makes Us Dumber' Debate

By: Mathew Ingram

Mathew Ingram — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:41:03 +0000

I agree that is interesting, Forrest. The Internet definitely makes it easier for students in particular to be lazy, because there is so much content out there free for the taking. That makes it even more necessary for teachers and parents to make them think critically about what they find on the web. Thanks for the comment.

By: This is your brain. This is your brain on technology. | Peaceful Walk

This is your brain. This is your brain on technology. | Peaceful Walk — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:16:32 +0000

[...] This is your brain. This is your brain on technology. Posted on June 10, 2010 by Michael UPDATE: To be fair, it looks like the the NYT article has generated a lot of buzz within many circles. While a few of us here on this blog have shared our praise and concerns regarding technology, it looks like many others have done so as well. Check out this link to read (from a secular perspective) both sides of the issue: Some Sanity in the ‘Web Makes Us Dumber’ Debate. [...]

By: justin locke

justin locke — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 02:00:07 +0000

"smart" and "stupid" are subjective judgments of what we like and don't like.

By: justin locke

justin locke — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:25:32 +0000

as i point out in "principles of applied stupidity," "smart" and "stupid" are subjective judgments of what we approve of/ disapprove of. whether the internet or eating fish or going to university makes you smarter or dumber is entirely a matter of opinion.

By: robnward

robnward — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 22:29:33 +0000

Brian, you appear to have taken several somewhat random facts which may be more or less true (or not) and connected them incorrectly. Falling readership of newspapers is much more due to those same young people you decry as dumb finding the same information you pay for in your newspaper in free online forms. Video games encourage multi-tasking skills, while online games can promote teamwork and social skills when used properly. TV can easily be an excellent source of information (just look to Carl Sagan, Cesar Milan - the best reality show on tv, and numerous other shows).

The printed word is NOT vanishing from our lives. Overall book sales dropped about 4.5% over the last 2 years primarily due to economic problems, but e-book sales (OH GOD!! Books on COMPUTERS?!?! Whatever SHALL WE DO?!) rose more than 17%. Children's book sales are up as are higher education book sales, and basic trade book sales are essentially flat. People are definitely NOT running away from reading to watch tv or any of the other evils of modern life that you'd like to demonize.

So why don't you step away from the evil machine that you're upset about and go out to play a little. Come back in when you've calmed down.

By: Some Sanity in the ‘Web Makes Us Dumber’ Debate « Travelling Through The Wire

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:54:06 +0000

[...] Site – http://gigaom.com [...]

By: Amy Gorin

Amy Gorin — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:52:02 +0000

And as any researcher will tell you, Brian, correlation is not causality. Yes, I can believe students have a lower attention span now than they did 20, 30, whatever years ago. I can also believe that the expectation of, not only universal literacy, but universal high school, and even college, graduation, is something very new. When did it become normal for all teenagers to be on the academic track? When did it become normal for school children to have no recess, no music, even no outside play time after school? The Internet is a symptom, not the disease.

By: Forrest

Forrest — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:34:18 +0000

Okay, so lets look at what the internet has become. A repository of information. Now information may be good, and information may be bad.But if you no longer have to use your head to figure something out then you have indeed 'dumbed' people down.

By the same token I have met many people who are not interested in going out and learning for themselves in the first place. So a resource that allows them to pull up a figure or fact willy-nilly may indeed seem like a good thing.

There was a challenge I gave to some students of mine to write a report. I gave half the use of the internet and the other half I forced to go into the library ( I know mean of me isn't it ) The children that went to the library finished faster and had MUCH more diverse papers then the ones that only used the internet. Most of their papers where identical in theme and structure. Now I know that is only anecdotal but still interesting.

By: Zachary Adam Cohen

Zachary Adam Cohen — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 20:15:20 +0000

I think what all of these various writers and thinkers have missed is that they've assumed we are all alike. I personally see myself becoming much smarter, much more mature (probably because I am regularly conversing with, reading and thinking about) the work of people older and smarter with myself.

The point is that the frenetic pace and the specific tools of social media probably effect people in different ways. To the uninterested non-contemplative person, they become even less focused. But to those who are interested in deep analysis, they simply use these tools so that that priority is in the fore front, by following less people on Twitter for instance, or culling the number of blogs they read regularly.

Pinker, Carr, Bilton, et al have not talked about, and I am suggesting they should, that there is not a blanket generalization for how these things are effecting us. It effects different people in different ways. And each of the above is correct in some way.

By: Zachary Adam Cohen

Zachary Adam Cohen — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 20:09:50 +0000

Maybe teaching should evolve along with students