RSS
Twitter
Actual Study Suggests Googling Activates Your Brain, Rather Than Making You Stupid
from the can-we-get-money-back-from-Nick-Carr? dept
Earlier this year, we were among many who debunked Nicholas Carr's somewhat ridiculous assertion that Google somehow made people stupid because it got them used to skimming information rather than sitting down with a big fat book (like the one Carr is trying to sell) and reading through it. Like so many Carr theses, it seems filled with some interesting factoids and connections -- but then jumps to a conclusion that isn't even remotely supported by the rest of the article. Yet, rather than defend or respond to criticisms, Carr has gotten into the habit of only posting the positive reviews of his article and book.
It would be interesting to see, then, how he responded to some actual research that suggests using search engines helps keep the brain active and "exercises" the brain -- which would be rather the opposite of Carr's thesis. Not only that, but the MRI research showed that active internet users tended to have more activity in the region of the brain that controls decision-making and complex reasoning. While it's just one study -- and you can question how widely the results can be applied -- it's at least worth noting that it seems to contradict Carr's basic thesis.
