Though it may not always feel like it, the Internet is actually making us smarter, at least according to a new survey of scientists, business leaders, and technology developers.
A collection of 900 experts interviewed for the Pew Internet report The Future of the Internet IV, released last Friday, were asked their views on how the Internet is affecting us–now and in another 10 years. Though most felt that the Internet can and would improve our reading, writing, and overall grasp of knowledge, some were reluctant to jump on that bandwagon.
“Three out of four experts said our use of the Internet enhances and augments human intelligence, and two-thirds said use of the Internet has improved reading, writing, and rendering of knowledge,” said Janna Anderson, study co-author and director of the Imagining the Internet Center, in a statement. “There are still many people, however, who are critics of the impact of Google, Wikipedia, and other online tools.”
In the summer of 2008, writer Nick Carr wrote a controversial article for The Atlantic entitled “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Pew Internet asked the same question of its panel of experts.
Most disagreed with the premise that browsing and skimming through Web sites is lowering our ability to concentrate. Some said that Google makes us more informed and creative. Others said sites like Google make us intellectually lazy. And for many, the answer was not as simple as the question.
“Google will make us stupid and intelligent at the same time,” wrote Dutch Futurist Marcel Bullinga. “In the future, we will live in a transparent 3D mobile media cloud that surrounds us everywhere. In this cloud, we will use intelligent machines, to whom we delegate both simple and complex tasks. Therefore, we will lose the skills we needed in the old days…But we will gain the skill to make better choices…All in all, I think the gains outweigh the losses.”
[الاوسمه]: The Internet