How Good Software Makes Us Stupid 385
siliconbits writes "The BBC has an interesting article about how ever improving software damages our ability to think innovatively. 'Search engines' function of providing us with information almost instantly means people are losing their intellectual capacity to store information, Nicolas Carr said.' This sadly convinced some journos to come up with wildfire titles such as 'Google damages users' brains, author claims.'"
Slashcode... (Score:5, Funny)
So the shitty slashcode may be doing us all a favor then? Visit idle and become a supergenius.
Re:News To Me (Score:5, Funny)
Right, and having a dictionary and thesaurus on my desk in easy reach is stopping me from learning new words.
IIRC, those books will help embiggen a cromulent vocabulary.
Back in my day... (Score:5, Funny)
We had to walk up hills and solve complicated equations in the snow to search the internet. And we liked it, it built character.
Get off my lawn.
Re:Hardly Stupid (Score:5, Funny)
"Never memorize what you can look up in books." - Albert Einstein
As quoted in "Recording the Experience" (10 June 2004) at The Library of Congress
Did you know that off the top of your head or did you have to Google it? ;-)
Re:News To Me (Score:3, Funny)
Do you not mean "Meet your demise in a sea of flames"? Clearly, your claims of not suffering from a degraded lexical range are mere fabrications.
Re:Cognition Understanding Fail (Score:5, Funny)
The author could have known that if he'd simply look it up through Google. But that would invalidate the point he was trying to make.
Re:News To Me (Score:5, Funny)
Jesus, I had to Google both of those words.
Re:News To Me (Score:3, Funny)
There's an app for that, you know.
Well... (Score:3, Funny)
Well, if it helps, some people still seem to think that spelling something the same as everyone else is a sign of an unimaginative mind ;)
Re:Look It Up (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Bad Software (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I'm suffering more from overload than anything (Score:5, Funny)
Just get an Apple TV and let Steve Jobs do the choices for you.
Re:News To Me (Score:3, Funny)
Oh, that explains it! (Score:4, Funny)
So iTunes is just Apple's way of making us all a bit smarter by being *terrible*. Whew. I was confused on that one!
Re:More like... (Score:5, Funny)
More like how having a spell-checker makes people never learn how to spell most words
Spill chuckers oar grate! I owl wise ewes won, sew eye no it's spilled core wrecked. Eye wood never loose my spill chucker!
GPS has completely destroyed the ability... (Score:4, Funny)
The Super Constellation aircraft used by all our Chiefs of Staff, since Gen Douglas MacArthur III had special window on the roof to let the navigator take star shots and sun shots
Now with this new fangled GPS, this valuable skill is completely lost. Now people need a stupid voice in Brit accent speaking from a plastic box to get them from Kalamazoo MI to Tuscaloosa Alabama.
Re:News To Me (Score:5, Funny)
Medieval Mnemonics (Score:3, Funny)
Myself, I'm still upset at the devastation that that upstart Gutenberg caused to Medieval Mnemonics! [amazon.com]
Re:I'm suffering more from overload than anything (Score:3, Funny)
Re:News To Me (Score:2, Funny)
Re:More like... (Score:5, Funny)
I sense,,,, (Score:2, Funny)
Re:I'm suffering more from overload than anything (Score:3, Funny)
Looks like we have similar taste ;)
Re:News To Me (Score:3, Funny)
I heard this expressed as "Never use a big word when a diminutive alternative would suffice." =)
That is why (Score:3, Funny)
I use Linux, gcc, emacs, xfig, latex, mythtv, mplayer etc. It helps me stay sharp...
Seriously, I like these programs, but there is always something to learn work around etc...
Re:News To Me (Score:2, Funny)