"Socrates may have
been mistaken about the effects of writing, but he was wise to warn us against
taking memory's treasures for granted."
In Chapter 9, Carr argues
that our dependence on the Internet and other technologies has weakened our
ability to remember. We diverged from an ancient society that relied on
memorization to function. Carr suggests
we have now undergone a transition from biological storage to computer storage
since visual, audio, technological, and writing tools have become more available.
The author feels this impairs our memory.
Okay, let's take a step
back here for a second. I somewhat agree and somewhat disagree with this point.
Why I somewhat agree: I
was watching TV with my parents last night. They wanted to watch a show called
"Wicked Tuna" on demand, but they could not remember the network that
plays the show. My mom said, "It
was just advertised on the station we were just watching… does anyone remember
what it said? EH, just look it up, Kate." Bam!, I searched “Wicked Tuna”
on Google and I immediately found the network.
I hear the phrase "look it up" at least twice a day.
Especially since I have an iPhone and I do not even need a computer to search
for something.
Why I somewhat disagree: When I think of times
that it is necessary to have an extremely powerful memory that can access
information at any given moment, I think DRIVING. As a commuter, I know that
learning to drive the morning commute requires much concentration. While a person is on the road, he or she is
not able to look something up. One must evaluate the current driving situation
and apply knowledge to properly operate a vehicle.
I think it is all about balance. We must be able to find an equilibrium
between writing things down or looking something up to help us remember and keeping
our minds alert, young, and ready to process new information. Let’s face it: our society is far more
complex than it was when keeping tabs on information and using technology was
non-existent. Our society has grown in
part due to the powerful tools we have developed, and it is necessary to use
these tools to keep up with growing trends. However, there is a fine line
between using and abusing tools, and we need to learn to never walk or cross
this line in order to preserve the beauty of our memory.
Kaitlyn Carcia
I feel that the arguments that Carr makes regarding our memory being harmed by the internet are a little over-kill. When he commented that our memory was the computer's hard drive I was especially bugged. It seems ridiculous to say that we are incapable to remember things because we use the internet. The internet may aid us in many things regarding to memory but I feel that if it is having any impact on us it would only be a positive impact. I understand that he believes we are only able to store so much in our head and there must be a certain amount of time thinking about something to remember it, but one of the things that he talks about is our brain's plasticity and the brain functions this way because it is supposed to be able to adapt to many of the things that it encounters in life.
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