Getting the Full Picture

Mr.  Daisy's trip to china's factories make it sound like the working conditions of the factories are bad.  It isn't just the apple factories but other factories as well.  While listening to him about the conditions, it sounded like he wanted his audience to sympathize for workers in china.  I agree that the working conditions are probably not good.  But, I also think that he should have done more research about other jobs outside of factories in China and compare them.  He was only focused on the apple factories and I think he just made his judgement on that.  It sounded like that he thinks that if working conditions in apple factories are bad then they must be bad in other factories.  I think he should have gone to some other non apple factories too and it may have strengthen his argument about working conditions in China if they are all that bad.

Mr Daisy argues that the working conditions in apple factories are bad but, I wonder if he considered about other facts for his argument.  He didn't say that the workers were slaves so they are working there on their own free will.  They are aware of the working conditions and they still stay on their own will.  They could leave if they felt the working conditions are that bad.  It's probably hard to find a job there because of China's mass population so I think people will stay with a job they get no matter the working conditions so they could support their family.  Working conditions outside the factory could be far worse and pay little too.  For example working in the rice fields could be far worse than working in the factories.  Their local jobs could be worse than the corporate factory jobs.  The suicides in his argument do sound bad but he doesn't know why.  It could be because of stress that the suicides happen.  The could be other factors too though.  A worker may have gotten fired and finding another job is really hard so they just commit suicide.  There is just a lot of other things to consider.

I think Mr. Daisy made a decent argument about working conditions for apple factories in China.  It was an experience that he shared with other people.  His experience was the only argument he had though.  There are just too many gray areas to make a full argument on though.  He should have done other research to go along with his experience.  Mr. Daisy would have had a more solid argument if he done some other research and had proof.  All I have is his word and not much to back it up on except for the last 15 minutes of the show.  There was another interview with another guy and apple didn't want to be on the show.  It is not much to go on.  They do mention other things like the rice fields that Daisy didn't touch on though but not really in detail.  There is a just a lot of gray areas that I think Mr. Daisy should have touched on to strengthen his argument.  There is not a lot of information that I can make a full opinion on about the working conditions of China. 

Charlie and the Apple Factory

The assembly line in Foxconn

The nets went up in May, after the 11th jumper
in less than a year died here.

After spending an hour listening to the very (un-necessarily) descriptive episode Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory it got me thinking about how terrible life must be working at the factories in Shenjin, China. For example such as how a worker died at the Foxconn factory after working a 34 hour shift. How they live in stacked up beds with barely enough space to squeeze into. That they even had to put nets along the walls outside there factory because so many workers were committing suicide. That main part that baffles me is how Apple claims to have no idea about what is happening at the factories, that when they do there "check ups" everything appears to be perfectly fine. Also that if you are found to be part of a "labor union" in China, you will go to prison for a very long time, just because you want to help stop the highly unfair treatment of labor upon the workers at factories such as Foxconn. I find it ridiculous that they are allowed to have workers as young as 12 year olds, that they use as nuero-toxin that causes peoples nerves to disintegrate just to help dry of the screen just a little bit faster then alcohol would. This is a problem that needs to be addressed but probably never will. China has such a huge impact on the worlds economy that pulling out of China or cutting of there resources would just ultimately lead to an economic downfall. If we decided to make all of these items in America it would cost 100 times more because we actually have labor laws and a union. Where as in China the labor for companies is practically free. It is a sad but necessary sacrifice to meet the demands of the world we live in. In the end would everybody really choose to give up there expensive Apple products just to end the misery of a few thousand (or more) people they have never met? I honestly have to say that the majority of people today would not.

Made in Shenjin.

 Well, I don't know how to react to this. I am a proud apple owner, Im currently finishing the pod cast and typing this response on my Mac book Pro... I'm on my seventh Iphone and also own an Ipad, I'm not going to say that I'm going to stop using apple but I will say that I am shocked. I found it very weird that the Siri program Wasn't "allowed" to answer where it was made. Mr. Daisy sheds the light on the truth behind apple, He seems to make it sound a little better then it actually is by cracking a joke every now and then but the truth behind foxcon is very dark, Mr. Daisy made a trip to Shenjin to the foxcon factory, Met some workers and came to find out that they were younger, by younger 13 years old. He also said that they were using a product to clean the glass that evaporated faster than alcohol but was extremely harmful to the people handling it, it was said that is dissolves joints and ruins workers hands for good. I don't think that apple should be singled out for this though, it made me wonder what other major companies are having their products made from a sweat shop somewhere in china by young children and overworked workers.  The story of Mr. Daisy's experience is a shocking one for sure though, people being beat for taking picture outside of foxcon, workers literally being worked to death and sacrificing health for the products we consume here in America. Daisy shares his experience with the man he had met that was let go from foxcon that would make the metal backplates on the i pads, Daisy showed this man the finished I pad and the man was in aw, this was the first time he had ever seen a finished i pad, they weren't even in Shenjing, The product he was loosing his hand over he had never encountered until this day. Another thing that shocked me was that when these workers would go to the union board with problems they would be put on a black list and that list was given to companies to show not to rehire these people. I don't think there is any way to stop this, awful labor laws will always be around but i do think that they can be fixed and having children of our future risk their lives to produce products to entertain us Americans. It honestly makes me feel bad that these people go through this and are not in school because they are forced to work for almost nothing for the selfishness of companies.

Necessary Evil

                Mr. Daisy bring to light a lot of things that people would like to not think about in this world. One, we are dependent on the production of goods from lesser developed nations. And two, this generally means the employment of millions in conditions we would never accept in our lives back at home. While these are tragic stories that should appall anyone who reads them, is it not necessary for everyone involved?

                Throughout the story, Mr. Daisy points out what is happening wrong with these overseas factories (the apple factory being an example of all). Children working more than twelve hours a day and being shuttled off to other parts of the factory when regulation officers show up. Living conditions at the dormitories being something akin to animal pins at produce farms. Workers losing their work after being tragically maimed. And at the end of the segment, Mr. Daisy's translator asks a surprising question. "Do you think these people are mentally ill?" Taken back by this, Mr. Daisy finally sees the translator for what she really was. A person in a job everyone inspired to have. Even she, a native to China, could not believe what she had seen and heard in the past few days.

                But why are these people still working here? If conditions are this outrageously bad then why haven't they found another place to make their living? While he is busy painting the horror story of the Chinese factory, he does not cover what is right about these conditions. While at this time it may seem impossible to find something right in all that was said, Mr. Daisy may of been describing the "silver lining." While I admit my studies may have made me numb with their focus on economics though statistics. I would like to think that the conditions, while unfavorable, are better than what they could have without the factory.

                The commonly quoted article as mentioned in the end of the episode, Two Cheers for the Sweatshops, does paint a somewhat different story to the life in these factories. It points out that "-sweatshops that seem brutal from the vantage point of an American sitting in his living room can appear tantalizing to a Thai laborer getting by on beetles." The people of Asia, while  working in these bad conditions, actively fight campaigns against sweatshops. That having a job in the "horrible conditions" of a sweat shop is by far better than not having the job available.

               This is why I think that, while conditions should be improved in some way, the sweatshops serve as a necessary evil. Not only do they bring us products for a very cheap price, and keep our economy sustained because of it. But the people who work in the sweatshops are better off in their lives for a few reasons. They now have access to a regular income that most the population doesn't have. The conditions in most these sweatshops can actually be safer than other jobs. And lastly the sweatshops are the gateway to further economic growth which hopefully will lead to increased living conditions for the country as w whole.

Mr. Daisey's Apple Response

As I was listening to Mr. Daisy talking about the factory in Shenzhen, there was not much to argue about. There were some issues that I want to express with my own opinion. First will be Foxconn, then employees working, and finally how they are losing their factory.

I had no idea that all the cell phones brands and apple products were under Foxconn, up until I was listening to Mr. Daisy. All these technology that we're living in today is in our everyday lives, because technology is expanding and becoming our hobby for most of the people in this world. What would we be doing if technology wasn't created at all? We probably would be doing nothing other than technology. Anyways, Foxconn is a widely known to the people who desperately can't get their eyes off of technology. I really don't know much about Foxconn, but I just learned from Mr. Daisy that cell phone brands and apple products are made from that factory in Shenzhen. Which kind of got me to my attention.

I wouldn't thought that they would hire 12, 13, and 14 year old kids to work on a factory like that. Hello! They should be in school instead. It really surpassed me because if it were here in America, education would come first before letting underage kids work. As Mr. Daisy was saying, that those kids who work at a young age would die in their early 20's or 30's. Sorry, that i'm saying this, but it is a shame to me to be living like those underage workers. But yet, they're so talented at a young age.

Moving people, or should I consider employees out of the factory to other places in China, would mean that the factory in Foxconn would lead to damage in my opinion. Without the employees, they wouldn't be inventing more equipped technology. It would be best to keep the employees, even though they are at risk of losing the factory.
After listening to Mr. Daisy's narrative report, it came to mind that he was just making people realize that Apple products might be in danger. Who knows? I have a MacBook Air, which is working fine and is in great condition. iPhones, iPads, and any other Apple products should be fine as well. Who would think, besides Mr. Daisy's theory, that technology could be in massive jeopardy? According to Mr. Daisy it is, but for other parts of the world, it is not.

Mr. Daisy and Apple

The conditions in theses factories are absolutely atrocious.  I couldn’t believe all the things that happened just so I could sit here and type on my Mac Book Pro.  Hearing Mr. Daisy talk about the chemicals used to clean the screens on iphones destroying the workers hands. They have dorms where fourteen or so beds are squeezed into a twelve by twelve room.  I cannot believe human beings are being treated like this in factories just so we can get our electronics. Apple needs to be held accountable for this.  Also it is disturbing how the companies do not check the ages on the workers.  They almost seem to try to cover up the child laborers when supervisors come to check.  There was one man who was injured at FoxCon and he was fired because he became to slow.  He works at another factory now and said he is treated a lot better.  The way these people are treated is awful; the suicide rate is very high in Foxcon. We use these products everyday but we never really research how they are being made or make sure that Apple is treating their people well. Mr. Daisy asks if we should feel weird about using these products, and some people say no.  Things are awful in these sweatshops and I think that companies should be checked up on more so that things like child labor and bad treatment don’t happen.     

I'll never use Apple

I’m still currently listening to Mr. Daisey right now and I have to start off by saying I will never ever use an apple product ever again in my life. I honestly cannot believe that a store that projects themselves to be one of the top companies when it comes to phones, tablets, and laptops would honestly be this bad. I kind of want to know exactly how many people would continue using Apple products after listening to this segment. I don’t know exactly how much extra it would cost if these products were made here in the United States. I mean I could never think about wanting to kill myself because of how much I dislike my job. This segment actually truly bothered me right to the heart. I almost grabbed everything my wife had that was made by Apple and threw it in the trash, but that wouldn’t have gone well. On top of all of this the workers that work here could be thrown in jail for being in a Union. I mean imagine being thrown in jail for speaking the truth about saying that the way someone over you at a job is doing it the wrong way. Or imagine being black listed from a every job in a country because you speak out and say that you want to be paid overtime for working overtime. It is funny how our government doesn’t tell Apple that they have to shut down Foxcon. Add to this that these people that create the products don’t even get to use them because Apple isn’t even being used in China. I fully agree with Mr. Daisey when he says, “That if workers ever lined up next to each other like they do and take their lives so publicly would be on the national news.” I have to pose a question to everyone do you still support Apple? Do you still want to get the new Iphone 5? Do you realize that the Iphone 4S itself at retail value is at least 650 dollars and can even get up to the price of 850 dollars. It is pretty bad when Apples own people go over to China and stop working with a company because the company refuses to use adults instead of children. Apple really needs to change the way they go about their business or else I will never buy another Apple product and I definitely won’t let my children have them. Everyone wonders about what is destroying this world, what is causing some people’s hearts to go cold. Well you don’t have to look too far if you have an Apple product because that is the first thing you should look at. I believe Apple is the first company we are hearing about doing this, but to think they are the only ones is ludicrous. How can we expect them to change if we ourselves won’t? I ask myself now, what products I own were made in sweat shops and would I still use the products I have if I knew the answer to that question. It really makes me wonder. I hope when the day comes that I find out that I can say to heck with this I refuse to use that product now, but I won’t know until that day comes. So I pose a question to anyone who reads this, what will you do if you find out the phone you use was made in the type of conditions that are described in this segment? Will you still use your laptop, phone, or any other electronic device if you find out some 14 to 15 year old kid in a sweat shop made it?

Lesser of Two Evils

                

             While listening to Mr. Daisey I came to realize and to actually understand that it is horrible over in China, what he did was give these workers a voice and a face for us to picture in our heads. It isn’t just China anymore, more specifically it is Shenzhen. It isn’t just random faceless workers anymore, now we see a 13 year old girl or a man with a deformed hand that was crushed in a factory and received no medical attention. What Mr. Daisey has done is create sympathy in our minds; he has described in such detail, with an immense amount of enthusiasm, what is happening in the factories that create our livelihoods.  That’s really what they are making for us; our livelihoods. Our phones and our laptops are our lives and without them we can’t survive, most people wouldn’t know what to do if they couldn’t Facebook with their friends or just talk or text them on their cell phone.  

                Looking at our society today you know that we are set in our ways of living with all this technology. Because of the demand, gadgets are being made in such massive quantities and we have to be ok with what is happening in these factories.  Is it acceptable for us to just stand by and let this happen? In the eyes of modern people it is ok as long as Billy and Sally can get the new phone they want to be able to talk to their friends whenever they want?  What are the other options for us really though? We can manufacture all these items in the United States, which would indeed provide quite a few jobs for the unemployed Americans to benefit from, but would people be willing to spend twice as much for the same iPod or laptop that they have now? I really think the average person wouldn’t even have the money for these items. 

What is going on over in China and in other third world countries isn’t necessarily considered bad by everyone because the local populous consider these factories as the lesser of two evils. These evils being either:  working in the fields all day to simply put food on the table or working in the factories making money and helping to improve the economy in their area. These employees aren’t slaves to the corporations they work for, they can quit anytime they want. The only problem with that is they can’t survive without a job to provide their family with the essentials. This I believe makes these factories necessary to make everyone happy and provide them with a better life.

                Everyone’s lives whether they are from the U.S. or the countries that house these factories, are better from our arrangement that we have. I’m not saying that it’s perfect, because there is definitely room for improvement on the factories’ and the corporations end, but as I said before it is the lesser of two evils. It is also up to the corporations like Apple and Samsung and all the other companies that use this cheap labor to improve the employees living and working environment so that it is closer to the standards that we have and abide by here in the U.S. 

Apple rotten to the core?

The evidence of poor and inhumane working conditions along with child labor that Mr. Mike Daisey shared on the broadcast show, “This American Life,” is unsettling and disturbing. I find myself conflicted as I write this response. As each word is typed on my MacBook Pro I ponder about the person who has put the pieces to this wonderful machine together. The sweat and the possible blood that was shed to make this equipment is a justifiable cause of throwing my laptop against the wall. I however, do find myself, thankfully, kept in check from completely throwing my MacBook Pro.

I know that without these jobs, that life would be just as hard if not harder for the people of Shenzhen.  Furthermore, even in our great history of American progress, we too had to fight for right to unionize and to fight for the better working conditions that we have today. It was the price of our forefather’s blood that allows us to enjoy the forty hour workweeks, the paid holidays, and not to mention benefits that include healthcare (with a lot of companies and government employers), and retirement.

            I believe firmly with increased pressure from the workers of these cities of mass industrialization, that the companies that profit from the sweat and blood of these people will be forced into a corner to obey their demands. It would also be interesting to witness a more increased effort from the giant companies that buy the manufacturing power from the companies like FoxConn. How much muscle do we as consumers really have? If consumers start sending messages to the to companies such as Apple, Dell, HP, etc, etc, how would they have to react in response? Those companies are directly linked to the consumer’s happiness, thus if the consumer is unhappy the company is unhappy, and finally the manufacturer is unhappy because they will be potentially losing their business.

             That also raises questions to the consumer, are we content that we are able to buy these products at a cheaper rate at the cost of these workers? It was also evident in the broadcast, that people in Shenzhen were already moving to come together and make a stand. It was also fascinating to think that the numbers of workers employed by Foxconn is almost equal to the entire population of Alaska! However, it was also noteworthy to think that unionizing outside of Chinese Government’s own union is highly illegal and punishable.

Apple has stated that their audits have found child laborers and have claimed that they stopped buying from those manufacturing companies and that they are actively concerned about the issues at hand. It is curious to think though, that with the described working conditions in this broadcast program, how hard are the company’s auditors really looking?  It is astonishing to think the companies that seek business with FoxConn and the like are convinced that the profit is well worth the cost of those poor and hazardous conditions. It’s harder to grasp which is worse, the thought that these company auditors have seen the living conditions in the cement dorms described by Mike Daisey, or perhaps they haven’t seen them. To which my response to both of these scenarios is that Apple and the like are full of ignorant bliss.  Are workers not worth a small portion of the profit to make living quarters decent enough to for a human being to live in?

I understand the progress of working conditions is much needed by the people of these industrialized countries. I understand they are linked to my everyday consumption and use of electronic goods and other products. I also know that without these jobs that they could and most likely would be in a worse position. I hope that we can trust Apple and other such companies are not rotten to the core and that they continue to push manufactures kings and tycoons such as Foxconn to better the working conditions for such honorable people that bring me my iphone, MacBook Pro and other great products.

Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory - Response #2

For your homework this weekend, listen to the This American Life's episode entitled "Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory". You may initially note that this is a distinctly different kind of writing and arguing than we have encountered thus far in the semester. This episode is constructed as a memoir or narrative essay in which Mike Daisey tells the story of his trip to China to visit the factories in which many popular gadgets, including Apple's iPhone and iPad, are created, and as a result it is constructed quite differently than the things we have read in class up to this point.

Despite the changes in the form of reading that we are doing (i.e. we are listening, not reading, and we are listening to a narrative as opposed to a more formal argumentative essay), respond to the episode much like you have to the rest of our readings in class. Critically analyze the piece, and try to get a good understanding of the logic Daisey is using to argue his point.

As promised, we still have bad clip art to accompany each of my posts.

The Specifics:

Write a 500 word post, responding to the episode in whichever way you would like; agree, disagree, pose questions, etc. Be sure to keep in mind that the issue is not black or white.  There a number of ways to approach the issue.

Good sorts of questions to ask when writing are the type that either complicate the situation Daisey has presented us with or question his line of reasoning, such as: 

• How much these consumer electronics items would cost if they were made by American hands? 
• Would American business action on the issue (i.e. businesses pulling out of China) change the situation? Would other business simply fill the void left behind? 
• What sorts of legislative mechanisms exist to clean up the factory conditions in the Chinese manufacturing industry, and are they being leveraged to their fullest extent?
• As consumers, what are viable actions to combat this sort of manufacturing activity?

Also keep in mind that, as we have been discussing in class for the last few days, that most academic writing is a product of the combined motions of summary and argument. I expect you to be simultaneously summarizing the content of the episode and generating your own opinions and progressing the logic of your argument.

This post is due by the beginning of class, Tuesday, Febrary 7th.

Have a great weekend!

Response: google making us stupid?

After reading Nicholas Carr's Article, It came to my understanding that the internet has made viewers less intelligent or keeps us distracted from other things more important. Like having to type up an essay or blog online for class. We tend to get distracted when it comes to doing things like this mainly because trying to focus on one thing on the internet could get boring, when there are other sites or ads that got our attention. The hardest thing about the internet is indeed not being able to focus or concentrate more than we usually would. There is a vast amount of information that we can find on the web and we tend to skim through it rather than reading a full article. 

The distraction of the internet has lead us to be less comprehensive, based on another article "Does the internet make you dumber?" related to the article by Carr. This article showed that people who read links or e-books off the internet tend to learn less than people who read the actual text. I believe this is true because are way of thinking is "scattered and superficial" stated Carr.The web has cost us to be more lazy to read or write long articles. Maybe because we have more access a lot of things and  technology is more accessible to us than it was how many years back. We find it much easier to use the web and search anything we need to find rather then going to the library to find it. I just find it hard to believe that maybe other generations to come will be dumber? Or more dependent on google or the internet like we are today but receiving false information in the process. 

Attention Span: Aborted

I'll start of by saying that I agree with many points made by Nicholas Carr in his "Is Google making us stupid?". The most prominent point that jumped out at me was the fact that he, as well as I, have noticed the shortening of our attention spans. For a few months, before the start of spring semester, I had been finding myself drifting off when I tried to read something, anything for that matter. About a week before we were assigned this article I had started asking myself "why?". Reading, what used to be an enjoyable pastime, had become something of a challenge for me. For months I had been barely able to make it through a chapter of any reading material and found it exceptionally painful trying to read my text books for classes. So what had changed? Until I read this article I had no answer. As I was reading the text, which I will admit was just as painful, I saw the same signs of boredom Carr was pointing out. As I scanned the rows of words trying my hardest to get to the bottom of the longest article I've ever read in my life, I realized I was doing exactly what he was arguing about, I was yet again just skimming the surface of yet another passage, until I made myself pay attention. Thinking back to when this pattern of behaviour started I could remember a much younger me, sitting on my bed, and reading into the long hours of the night. I could remember being drug into the world that books created for me, I could remember the excitement at a new book from the library, right up until the point where I began high school. That's where it all started. My downward spiral into the abyss of the Internet, into skimming nothing but the bare minimum for only the information I happened to be looking for. It was all just so easy. With the click of a few buttons I had everything I had ever needed. The answer to my homework question, the reason the sky is blue, and every other random tidbit of information I could ever wish for. So to answer the question "Is Google making us stupid?",well I don't know, but I do know that it is changing the way we get our information. Google is changing where we get our information, who we get it from, and the way we process the information we are given. Just like the typewriter and the printing press before it, the pioneer of the Internet search engines is changing the way things are done in the general population. Concerns about the effect that new technolgy has on our psyches is being brought into the light, just like their ancestors before them. What lays down the road in this new world of Google surfing however is yet to be seen.

I threw it on the ground.

I can agree on some of the aspects Carr stated in his article. The excessively long article with supported statements shows Nick felt a little passion about the subject. It was obvious he wanted a reaction out of the reader, however his attempts were futile.

The Internet does not make people stupid.  The decisions which people choose to make is what makes them stupid. We created technology; technology can only make us stupid if we let it make us stupid. The brain is like a computer; every person is free to program it the way they chose. If we want to experience literature in depth we can read books. Usually we choose to get our information from the Internet instead of books because it’s faster and we can decode the necessary information.

The Internet can be both good and bad depending on how it is used. The Internet is usually only bad when someone is spending an obscene amount of lifetime in social networking websites or if a spouse is looking at naughty websites. The primary good of the Internet is the vast majority of information at our disposal. Instead of reading from one author we can connect to thousands of authors, giving us different opinions to strengthen us as writers. Our productivity for learning has soared.  As writers we have become great at picking out the meat and potatoes of the worldwide web to support our causes. Reading books used to be pretty exhilarating, but lets face it, we have better things to do like wining and dining out that babe from the office.

Taking in only the pertinent information is all that’s necessary for completing a task. If this is what the majority of the population is doing, then that only means we are evolving to a whole new level of intelligence. Nicholas Carr is a concerned man. His theory is elucidated in a persuasive article disguised as an informative article. It was easy understanding and relating to some of the things mentioned in his article, but he completely lost me to boredom at one point.  I actually just looked up a summation of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey instead because it seemed far more interesting. This just made me think of how much I surf the Internet while juggling my education.

Fast information is convenient, but for the most part it’s taken for granted because it’s become a part of our everyday life. For example, many people carry smart phones, which is treated as a necessity. The capability to access the web through the phone is a relatively new concept, but it is truly amazing. I feel naked without my IPhone, it’s as if I have no connection with the outside world. In conclusion the Internet is more of a convenience then a problem. For better or for worse there is no slowing down the evolution of the computer.

Google Response

There is not much to argue about what Carr is trying to say. In his article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Carr is just giving a lot of information as to how Google or the internet is making us stupid with his own opinion.

To me, I don’t think the internet is making us stupid. It’s just making our everyday lives with the internet more intelligent by reading, or working on our online homework. I also think that he is trying to argue with the readers as to how the internet is making us stupid socially, which practically isn’t. There are tons of people out there who are using technology as there priority. Look at it this way, when you go to the library, you will see anonymous people with their laptops reading, looking up at a source online, etc instead of glancing through the book looking for some information that will take them hours to find what they are looking for. Before technology got more useful, people use to look up sources through books. Technology, however, made everything so quick to find what you’re looking for. But, it may take an hour or so to find the right source.

Google, by the way, is not making us stupid either. People go to this website to look for sources to read, or just to read for the people who love to socialize with their reading habits. There are all different kind of sources in this website. It is like a medication or a habit for most of the people who go online occasionally.

The type of genre Carr is writing about, I think is an academic writing because he is mostly lecturing about how Google is stupid in his own terms using other sources. Carr might have made a point to what he was trying to say about how the internet is wasting our time. In my point of view, I think that we are not wasting our time. We may have by going to Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and all the other non important websites, but that is just to catch up with our family, or friends. The most important about going on the internet is that we don’t have to look through the book. Isn’t that what you would think too?

Shallow Hal

The article of interest by Nicholas Carr brings up some interesting points. I found it ironic that he argued that Google and the internet have ebbed away at his attention span yet one had to intensely concentrate to follow his arguments. I found his points overstated and I felt bogged down by minutia as I attempted to follow his train of thought.
His purpose was to demonstrate that the internet and Google have changed the way we think to the degree even that our chemical and neurological make-up have been altered. It is true that we are well into the internet/information age. The amount of information we are exposed to increases on a daily basis. 30 years ago it would have taken several weeks to bring the amount of research to bear on any given topic that now takes us about 15 minutes performing a Google search and clicking on hyperlinks. This fact is irrefutable. Within a year we could be potentially exposed to more information than people in the pre-internet age were exposed to in a lifetime.  The reality is that we still have the same amount of time available to us in one day. Therefore, it is necessary for us to absorb information in manageable sound bytes. However, I am not convinced that this phenomenon is changing the way we think or as the author states in his title, "making us stupid."
I would certainly classify this article as academic. He backs up his points with well-researched references to history and even philosophy. It seems that he assumes that he is addressing a well-informed and educated audience. There is no doubt that he is intelligent, educated and quite comfortable swimming through academic water yet he is still human. Humans are subject to bias and clouding their research with emotion thus losing objectivity. I do appreciate the fact that he does admit his proclivities when he says, "maybe I am just a worrywart."
I concur. I think he is erring on the paranoid side. His point is overstated. Certainly, Google may be coming up with algorithms that streamline our searches that best fit our needs but this falls short of turning us into non-thinking automatons. No matter how smart, powerful, or omniscient Google and/or the internet is they cannot erase the human brain's capacity to sustain rational thought. Many would say that this is the very thing that makes us human and separates us from robots and animals.

Is the Internet “Dumbing Down" Society?

           The article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr brings up some great points about Google and the Internet and how it is affecting people in general. It is very important for people to realize and understand how these advances in modern technology are affecting society as a whole and can have positive and negative influences. In today’s world many people are focused on the “now, now, now” syndrome, they want what they want when they want. The Internet and mobile devices have made this possible; people can instantly bring up whatever they want at the moment they’re thinking it or switch from subject to subject without really getting full synapses of one or the other. While the Internet and technology have made this true, it necessarily isn’t making people dumb but rather changing how peoples brains process information and deal with it.

           

Technological advances that have occurred over the last couple of decades have had some really positive points to society. The Internet for example can be accessed nowadays wherever a wireless signal is at, making everything from emergencies to simply making assignments for school and work easier to deal with. The Internet helps inform the whole world what is going on right at the moment it is occurring. A vast array of subjects can pop up in a matter of seconds that people can look into and get a better understanding about, some for if it hadn’t been for the Internet people would’ve have never discovered in the day to day. Yes, of course the Internet makes false, non credible information available to be viewed but that’s where it requires people to use a little bit of thinking. People have to take an interest in to where they are getting their information and follow the saying “you can’t always believe what you read”.

           

To go more in depth to what Carr actually mentioned in his article, the Internet has had a big influence in how people read and how we process information. The Internet and many other technical devices such as mobile phones have made peoples attentions spans quite less than what the average persons was years ago. The Internet makes it so easy for people to turn their attention to one thing to another when they have lost interest in one or see something that’s more appealing at the time. Reading something on the Internet and reading something actually in print are very different, though they may not seem it. Like mentioned earlier, information you find on the Internet can be posted by anyone it may be false, biased, or overly exaggerated. This has it's perks as well though, you can get multiple views on a single subjects that can open up your mind to different possibilities and views which in turn increases thinking. Things on the Internet can also be put in front of you that you may not want to view or have an interest in which can easily be ignored but create annoyance, distraction, and confusion.

In my personal opinion, I feel the Internet and technology have opened up a lot of doors for people. Any one can go on the Internet and post what they want for instance, in this very class, we’re blogging about the things our instructor wants us to and sharing our views. Some people may view it and be interested and others may not. I believe the Internet has made it easier for children, seniors, and people at work and school to view and understand topics. It is much easier for people in remote locations to get on a computer and keep in touch with the world than it would be if they solely had rely on getting papers, journal articles, and books. People whether having a shelf of books in front of them or a computer are going to view only the subjects that spark their interest so that’s where I believe people wouldn’t really change what information they are viewing nowadays in the Internet wasn’t around. Overall I believe the Internet has it's good and bad influences on society. Accessibility and a vast array of subjects being the key positive points, while credibility and affecting humans attention spans being the negative.

Hal's my main man.

Mr. Carr’s article was a fantastic read. I found myself executing exactly what Carr was informing and driving his conclusions to. Not only was I trying to find keywords and other significant signs indicating where the meat of the article was but also, discovering how impatient I am when it comes to devouring and consuming wholesome brain food. It seems that Carr creates an article founded on a hybrid combination of writing styles.  That at the foundation is an informative and comical view into his own evolving adaptation, while utilizing some pretty direct argumentative points to fill this article to the brim of too much uneasiness. Or perhaps, it’s my conscious reacting to the newly discovered gem hidden away in an ever changing and shifting landscape too grandeur to notice the truth.

Carr’s reference in the article of the classic sci-fi book and movie, 2001: Space Odyssey was some pretty serious eye candy for me.  Hal easily could have a place representing the top sci-fi villains of all time. Hal was made to perform with a multitude of duty and skills, and had the ability to understand emotions. Hal, in the hands of imperfect human ambition, is built to help man achieve greatness as Hal processes and performs the tasks that are too burdensome to man.  After some unfortunate events Hal, understanding the emotion of danger and threat, perceives that he is in danger of being switched off and chooses to preemptively defend himself against the men he was designed to protect and work with. That is the doubled edge sword that Carr is insisting that we are dealing with the risk of becoming too reliant on a new way of everyday life, while potentially forgetting some useful practical tools of the old system.

I, even in the situation of a phenomenon of Hal betraying his human companions, would still insist that technology is still a benefit to man.  Just as Socrates was a cautious man of writing, and other men of the printing press, man has still survived the blade that was prophesied to bring them to destruction. Sure, my attention span may have dwindled with using the Internet but just Carr reflected, maybe that is the system evolving. Maybe we are now designed to capture and consume the little gold nuggets of information rather than devour a 6-course meal and a fine desert of knowledge.

I feel that we are on a brink of a new frontier. As new technology is introduced into our diet I feel it is necessary to look endlessly at the pros and cons of this rapidly changing landscape.  I often have perceived that even though old systems and old ways become outdated and often die, it is sill important to remember how they work or how to find a way to access them. After all, where would the crew of The Next Generation be if they were stranded on an unknown planet without a replicator? Who would cook, Data? Would it then be bland soulless food? Of course, that setting is in a future where man has overcome the hump of politicians that determine how technology and data are viewed.

'Is Google Making Us Stupid?' Response

    Carr makes some excellent points about just how ingrained computers and the internet are in our lives. We encounter them everyday in our personal lives with social networking, as a part of our education, for business and in the workplace. Because of today’s technology, we are used to everything being instantaneous. Our minds wander easily and it is especially easy to become distracted when we use the internet. This lack of concentration is probably a beneficial thing for companies because they can take advantage of our distraction and bombard us with ads. 
    The phenomenon of the internet is that it can deliver multiple diversions and conveniences to us and can take on the job of almost whatever we need it to be. There is online shopping and newspapers, and other sites like facebook and youtube which allow us to interact with each other on a worldwide scale. There are great advantages to being able to access the wealth of information which the internet provides. As Carr points out, researching takes far less time than it used to as there are many easily accessible online sources. There are also downsides to the internet, one of which Carr lists as our declining capacity to comprehend and interpret long pieces of writing.
    The internet and computers are truly incredible things that have been hailed as the technological breakthrough of our age. While they are powerful tools that enables us to do extraordinary things, sometimes we let them take too strong a precedence over our lives. I think this is part of the reason Carr has fears about technology dumbing us down. It can get to be like an addiction in some ways - such as the constant impulse to check in on facebook or twitter. It is easy to get distracted and it is probably a good idea to try to limit the time we spend on computers, but this is is much easier said than done.
    On the whole, I agree with many of the points Carr makes in this article. I can totally understand when he points out how difficult it is to lose track and get distracted while on the internet. He balances out his article with both pros and cons of the internet, and much of his writing is unbiased and informative. However, what Carr calls “Kubrick’s dark prophecy,” (how our reliance on computers is making our intelligence more artificial than theirs) might be true up to a point, but seems to be a rather skeptical view.
    I find that a good book will still hold  my attention, so I would not go as far as to say that google, the internet or computers are making us stupid in this way that pertains to reading. It is important to note that our brains are re-wiring themselves in order for us to try to comprehend and keep up with the quick pace of the internet, which is not the same thing as making us stupid. Carr points out that his mind “now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles.” This is just adapting and learning to think in a different way.

Response

Carr starts out by stating his opinion and then backing it up with numerous statements. I agree completely with Carr’s essay.  I have found in the last few years that my attention span has shortened when it comes to reading.  Just like Carr, I used to get lost in books and could read for hours on end.  Now it seems I can hardly get through the first chapter, let alone the first few pages without finding myself bored.  The Internet is all about instant gratification.  When information is needed just type it in and instantly you get 89,000,000 hits. It is no longer absolutely and completely necessary to go to the library and spend time researching through many books and spend time reading articles.  In today’s world all a person has to do is scroll through a few websites and they have all their research.  I myself even found it hard to not get distracted and move on when reading this article.  Face book notifications popping up, adds on the side, all contributed to my distractions. I agree with Carr when he says how helpful the Internet has been with research. All I have to do is just skip around to a few other sites scroll around and you have your answer. Subjects that used to take years of research now take a few days of surfing the Internet.

An interesting fact that I found in this article was when Maryanne Wolf, a developmental psychologist at Tufts University, stated that reading is not instinctive. “It’s not etched into our genes the way speech is. We have to teach our minds how to translate the symbolic characters we see into the language we understand. And the media or other technologies we use in learning and practicing the craft of reading play an important part in shaping the neural circuits inside our brains.”- Maryanne Wolf.  This was very interesting to me because it makes sense.  Language comes so easy to humans.  It’s a natural way of communication.  Reading and writing had to be studied and practiced and learned. Internet chat has altered how we write and read also.  I can admit that if I get an instant message longer than a few sentences I am more likely to not answer or read it.  This is because I am so used to short instant messages.  Now that I am in college reading has become a necessity and I still find myself flipping through the pages of my textbooks and when I get an online assignment it takes me a long time to get through it because of all the distractions.  I guess you could say it really just depends on the person but and their ability to concentrate but I know people relate to having their attention spans shortened by instant information. 

Online articles are especially hard for me to concentrate on because staring at a computer screen for so long without it moving hurts my eyes.  I always end up scrolling up and down the page and clicking on other things.  I don’t necessarily agree with Google making us stupid but I do think that we have become lazy because of the Internet.

Is Google Making Us Stupid Respone

After reading Nicholas Carr's article "Is Google Making Us Stupid?"  he really got me thinking about the internet and how it affects our thought process. I would have to agree with him on some points, such as the fact that the internet has wildly changed the way we receive our information and how we read articles on the internet. I would also have to disagree with him on some points, such as the internet making us stupid and causing us to do more skimming then actual reading.
The first thing I would to point to point out is how utterly boring his article was to read, he wasn't even trying to interact with the readers. For some reason he thought that if he talked about  Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey for half of his article it would make it more interesting. If anything all that did was drive people away from his article and onto more interesting topics. Other then that pointless reference that he comes back to over and over again, he just lists random facts and 100 other hyperlinks on where we can go to read more into something we don't care about. I would understand if he had used maybe 5 or so links to get his point across, but there is at least one or more links in almost every paragraph. Its like he doesn't even want us to read his article at all, just use it as a reference to find unnecessary information such as Phaedrus or War and Peace.
Throughout his lengthily article he did manage to get some good points across to the readers. Such as how the style in which we read has changed, and "as we come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into artificial intelligence."
Then there is the idea that the internet is destroying our intelligence just because we can find more information on it then going to a local library and spending 5 hours scouring the pages of a book filled with useless and redundant information just to find that 1 small piece of needed information. Just because our "new era" of giving and receiving information is more organized and efficient doesn't mean that our society is plumiting into an idiocrity. Our society as a whole is reading and is more informed today then we probably ever were, be it through facebook, a blogpost or an article that has more to deal with a crappy space movie than the title itself. All I am saying is yes, the internet has changed the way we read and receive our information, but just because we don't devote our full attention to a 500 page book about how an astronaut met a unicorn on Uranus doesn't really make the change bad now does it?