Is the Internet making us stupid?
 

TLDR

Summary please http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/cute.gif

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But seriously I can see this myself. I try to read a lot on my train ride into work, but aside from that I find myself getting bored by reading long tracts/books much easier than even in the mid 90s.

I try to strike a balance, but I know the interwebs have kind of make my mind feel more commonplace with a few paragraphs of information.

As I read this article I kept thinking to myself that I must finish, I must prove him wrong. Well I've checked this thread twice before I actually read the whole thing. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/frown.gif

TLDR http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...es/biggrin.gif

@ Sprayber. Well, I had to print it. I have a hard time reading long articles on my monitor.

Good article, read it a while back, but it's asking the wrong question.

It's more that the internet is making stupidity more visible.

Limited bandwidth didn;t read.

Originally posted by Cort Haus
I read the whole thing. No problem - apart from the fact that it was a badly-written, rambling, tedious reactionary diatribe which sought to prove his point by trying to bore the reader to death. ouch http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...s/toofunny.gif

I read it all. I don't think the internet is making me stupid. I still love reading books in one or two sittings.

this would be an excellent time for the stupid graph if anyone has it.

Originally posted by b etor
I read it all. I don't think the internet is making me stupid. I still love reading books in one or two sittings. http://www.discussworldissues.com/im...ons/icon14.gif

I dont even read posts

I'm here for the pictures

Originally posted by Lorizael
This may be the ideal, but it doesn't often happen. Just look at Poly. While we do have access to the internet, most of our arguments are still just our own ideological spittle. Just because you dribble all over your keyboard, it's a bit harsh to accuse others of doing the same.

Originally posted by Space05us


You're also female. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/tongue.gif
(or so you claim) She claims to be a male. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...es/doitnow.gif

Originally posted by Lorizael
At least I'm willing to admit it. It's what makes you such a valued poster, and undoubtedly a good bloke. http://www.discussworldissues.com/im...ons/icon14.gif

I think it does two things:

Distracts you from what you should be doing.

Decreases your memory, as you can look stuff up instead of having it memorized.

Both could cause an apparent decrese in intelligence.

JM

Originally posted by Jon Miller
Decreases your memory, as you can look stuff up instead of having it memorized.

Both could cause an apparent decrese in intelligence.

JM :-|

Presumably the same applies to books.

Originally posted by Nostromo
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google

Sorry, the article is too long to quote. And if you can't manage to read it and ask for a summary instead, you're somehow confirming the point of the article. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/smile.gif http://www.discussworldissues.com/im...ons/icon14.gif

depends what you compare it to.

in comparison to "watching TV" it's making us smart.

I met a chick like that once. Luckily for me I wasn't drunk enough to find out...

Originally posted by OneFootInTheGrave
http://www.discussworldissues.com/im...ons/icon14.gif

depends what you compare it to.

in comparison to "watching TV" it's making us smart. I think he's comparing it to read novels and such.

Ok, seems clear that the author was basing everything (the article, his personal research) on the fact of losing interest of books.

I would congratulate him on achieving the minor goal of realizing that reading can be as brain-numbing as watching T.V.

It's ironic that the fool doesn't yet realize that since he had that epiphany, he should be classified as smarter, not more stupid.