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Friday, October 2, 2015
wk8 - TEN – quotation sandwich
From The
Shallows, chapter “Ten: A Thing
like Me,” create a “quotation sandwich”: locate a pertinent quote, build a
“frame” around it, and “blend” the author’s words with your own. While being
fair and accurate, use the quote, but bend it to your purpose; use it for your
“I say”—yes / no / okay, but.
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I believe that self independence is very important to be successful in life. Not everyone should walk through life with a silver spoon in their mouth. You should be tested, prepared, and individual in order to be successful on your own one day. For example, in his book, “The Shallows,” Nicholas Carr said, “The brighter the software, the dimmer the user” (216). What this means is that the more the ‘software’ or your ‘guide’ in life does, the less opportunity to show who you are—and most of all what you’re capable of. This exemplifies the process of taking responsibility and be yourself, rather than let something else define you.
ReplyDeleteTechnology decreases our brain power. Carr states in The Shallows that, "The brighter the software, the dimmer the user" (216). We allow software on a computer to think for us. Yes, it is easier to just look up answers, lets say for a worksheet, but it is important to use our brains and think about the answer before we look up the answer on the internet. We think less when the internet is more complex and has more functions. It is sad to think that the internet is becoming stronger than our own thoughts and opinions.
ReplyDeleteIn 1965, Joseph Weizenbaum, a computer scientist at M.I.T., invented ELIZA, a computer program designed to give the impression that it understands human language. Weizenbaum was not expecting ELIZA to become as popular as it did. ELIZA became very common among lectures and presentations at M.I.T. Of course Weizenbaum was proud of his work, but he was also aware of the dangers that came along with too much reliance on computers. He knew that this could cause humans to lose their humanness, lose the things that make them different than computers. In chapter 10 of "The Shallows", Nicholas Carr paraphrases what Weizenbaum wrote, warning that the only way to prevent this from happening was to "... have the self-awareness and the courage to refuse to delegate to computers the most human of our mental activities and intellectual pursuits, particularly 'tasks that demand wisdom'" (207-208). This is a little frightening to me because it seems like this is already common. Almost everyone is guilty of turning to computers when dealing with tasks that "demand wisdom". Who doesn't turn to Google instead of the labor-intensive alternative of going to the library and actually researching something? Maybe we as a culture need to reevaluate our dependence on computers, and start doing more on our own.
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ReplyDeleteWe must continue to use our mind and bodies for daily tasks or else we will forget what it is like to use them and become a very lazy and uneducated world. Using your hands to make things or your mind to solve something is what helps us grow as individuals. In chapter 10 of "The Shallows", Carr brings up the topic that we have grown so much in industries and with technology that we have stopped using our own given bodies to do a task. McLuhan says that, "our tools end up 'numbing' whatever part of our body they 'amplify.'" (210). What this means is that the less we use our given body parts the more numb and weak they will become.
ReplyDeleteSome scholars would argue that although humans have created technology, technology has surpassed the human race and has the capacity to continue to grow. There are also others would deny that argument because the fact that humans created technology therefor there is no way that it can exceed its creators. However,a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, states that "our human software will in time catch up to the machine technology"(221) With this being stated, it is shown that although humans have created technology, we still haven't learned how to use to its heights.
ReplyDeleteNicholas Carr contemplates the idea that our technology or tools are actually giving us limitations due to the fact that we rely on these tools for complete tasks. Carr simplifies this idea by quoting McLuhan, "every tool imposes limitations even as it opens possibilities" this is an explanation that even as technology grows and becomes more helpful it puts limitations on us that we may rely on it more.
ReplyDeleteLong after the debut of his revolutionary software: ELIZA, the computer scientist from M.I.T. - Joseph Weizenbaum came to a realization that his software was not quite revolutionary as its claim of being humane, failed. This was because Weizenbaum had come to believe that what “makes us most human is what is least computable about us-the connections between our mind and our body, the experiences that shape our memory and our thinking, our capacity for emotion and empathy” (207). Therefore, Weizenbaum’s conclusion is not far from what I conclude: there are no perfect sets of algorithm, which can replicate our ability to make connections, to empathize, to think, and most importantly, to evolve.
ReplyDeleteThe internet is a very busy and bustling place. There will always be something new to click on and something new to explore. One simply cannot think deeply In cyberspace because,” There is no Sleepy Hollow on the Internet, no peaceful spot where contemplativeness can work its restorative magic”. I think that the internet provides a sea of information that can either drown you or help you. Everything is on the shoulders of the person riding his boat through the tempting waves of the internet.
ReplyDeleteAs we begin to use more technology it is helpful but at the same time we lose important skills. In Nicolas Carrs’s book he explains that, “Every tool imposes limitations even as it opens possibilities. The more we use it, the more we mold ourselves to its form and function” (209). One example Carr uses to explain this method is the farmer who loses his sense of the soil when new machines were created. Although the new machines created less labor and more efficient plowing, the farmer lost their instincts of farming. This loss is known as “numbing”. The tools and technologies are taking over our minds and alienating us from each other and deep thinking.
ReplyDeleteThe use of the internet is destroying the use of the brain, so Carr states. In Nicholas Carr's book "The Shallows", Carr argues that "The brighter the software, the dimmer the user" (216). I agree with this quote , but to some extent. Our ability to think is being impaired, but i believe the internet is a great source for learning.
ReplyDeleteToday people are connecting with the internet more than they are people. Since the internet has become so popular it means that there are limits because of how much control it has over us. Carr states, “Every tool imposes limitations even as it opens possibilities. The more we use it, the more we mold ourselves to its form and function” (209). The internet is turning us into different people whether we like it or not because we have allowed it to gain so much control. I agree with what Carr is saying because we use the internet for everything these days and rarely have to talk to other humans.
ReplyDeletePeople in today’s society have progressed gradually and evolved alongside technology. But overtime there have been positive but also negative undertones to both sides. Nicholas Carr shows through his book the shallows how technology has affected us as humans. Carr shows how the use of technology has drawn humans to be more separated from one another, “The price we pay to assume technology’s power is alienation.”(211) Carr argues that the effect technology has made is high and continues to grow if people don’t change technology to change according to humans not vice versa.
ReplyDeleteWriter Nicholas Carr warns society of the dangerous side effects that come with the advance of technology. Carr himself writes, “The more we use it, the more we mold ourselves to its form and function” (209). In other words, He believes that the increase of technology will bring a decrease in our human qualities. For an example, Carr uses our ancestors’ navigational skills. After the invention of cartography, natives found it increasingly more difficult to comprehend landscapes without maps. Overall what Carr is saying is that when we bring in technology thinking it will improve our qualities we often forget about what qualities may disappear because of “advancements”.
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