Nicholas Carr: "Is Google Making us Stupid?"

Nicholas Carr starts off his essay by examining how the habits of concentrations has started to change over the decades. Many years ago he would be able to easily immerse himself into a book or lengthy article , spending hours at a time trying to understand a text. However, nowadays he feels that his concentration is not as good as it used to be, drifting after about two or three pages, looking for something else to do. He also talks to some of his friends, and they too are struggling with the same problem. He infers that research on the Web (Google search) is now done in nearly minutes, as it used to take days looking through books. He says "the more they use the Web, the more they have to fight to stay focussed on a long piece of writing". Researches have found that we are now seeing a change in the way we read and think.  They say that "our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged." Meaning that we are not engaging in texts enough, simply reading summaries and easy-to-browse information, and it is effecting the way we think. Google is "really trying to build an artificial intelligence and do it on a large scale". This suggests that Google's economic interest is puting intelligence under the rug and driving us to distraction.

While it is true that we rely on computers to "mediate our understanding of the world" and our intelligence is "flattened into artificial inteligence", the internet is also exrtemely helpful. The Internet helps society keep up with the fast pace current society. It is also very benificial giving us tons of information right at our fingertips. However, we should not simply listen to the Internet and all of its teachings, but we should expierience many things as well. Just as the narrator in 'When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" by Walt Whitman expierinced nature for himself instead of only listening to the professer; we should also experience things ourself, not simply relying on the Internet.

Question: How do you think this will effect life in say 200 years?

Foucault: "Panopticism"

          Foucault starts of "Panopticism"  by describing this town that has become full of disease under a quarantine. People are trapped inside their house, and if the leave it then they will be killed. Only the guards and officials are aloud to walk around, checking who has died and who is still alive. The people are watched like a hulk, having guards at the end of each street to make sure no one goes anywhere. He says that "the plague is met with order" meaning that first the chaos of the plague will bring purification throughout the town, and second it will result in a disciplined society. Foucault goes on to explain his utopia of the perfectly governed city. Jeremy Bentham creates the plan of the Panopticon, which is "a distinct power that bears in distinct way over over all individual bodies". Essentially it is the idea that of measuring, supervising, isolating, and correcting the individual. This idea says that one will be watched all the time, never being in communication with anyone. Furthermore, the inmate never knows exactly when he is being watched, so he must assume that he is always being watched . The benefits to Panopticon would be that there would be no more bars, chains, heavy locks, or physical punishment.

          This reading connects with an earlier unit, Unit 3, Colonial Literature. They relate in the way they want to build a community by purifying it. When the early Plymouth settlers came and settled, they first thing they had to do was build a wall, and establish what is and is not included in their settlement. They built of their "city on a hill" and completely disregarded/despised what was not in the community. This includes nature, and the Indians who were seen as evil. However the main thing that they believed was to purify the community from all of the outside evils. Furthermore, they both focus on purifying and resulting in a 'utopia'/'city on a hill' society.

Question: How would this ever work?

Walt Whitman: "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer"

          When I Hear the Learn'd Astronomer is a poem about the narrators reaction to hearing one teach about astrology. He is in a lecture, being taught by a smart learn'd astronomer about complicated things. He teaches about proofs, figures, charts, diagrams, and how to add, divide and measure them. Finally after being taught these things he felt sick and tired, and took a walk outside. When he got outside he looked at the stars in the sky and realized how beautiful it is.
          This poem could mean many different things. However, the main lesson it is teaching that the best way to learn something is to experience it. The narrator was taught by a smart guy many useful things, however he was not at peace until he went outside and experienced the night sky for himself. Furthermore When I Hear the Learn'd Astronomer shows you that sometimes learning through professors, charts, lectures, and diagrams is not always the most effective way; rather learning through experience has more of an impact on one.This connects with Paulo Freire and his outlook on Problem Posing education, which says that teaching shouldn't just be about teachers telling you what you ought to know and think, but one thinking for themselves.

Question: Why did he become sick?

Walt Whitman- "The Wound-Dresser"

          The Wound Dresser written by Walt Whitman was in response to children (the youth), answering their questions they had for him about the Civil War. He goes on and talks about the war, his experiences and challenges. Hospitals were set up as tents, with a line of wounded people laying outside of it. Buckets of rags were filled with blood endless times over. He says that there are many wounded, bloodshed, and death. Sometimes he simply sat there and silently watched the dead. "Come sweet death! be persuaded O beautiful death! In mercy come quickly"; he is saying that there is so much suffering that the most merciful way out is to die. Furthermore, the Civil War was full of suffering and bloodshed.
          In this poem it is I find it interesting that he does not talk about any of the joys that he experienced in war. Instead he told stories about his and others miserable suffering. He did this because it was in fact one of the bloodiest wars in American history. Common people saw the victories as the war,  but the soldiers lived it and he describes the suffering and death. This connects to William Wordsworth because Wordsworth says it is the job of the poet to show the truths and beauty that the common people are missing. Therefore, Whitman is doing the job of a poet by writing and expressing his truths to the youth about the Civil War.

Question: Why was he content with many hardship and few joys?

Thoreau: "Resistance to Civil Government"

          Henry David Thoreau believes that the government is no longer expressing the will of the people, but it has become "abused and perverted". He says that "the government is best which governs least". This means that the best government would be a government that barley even has to govern. I fact he says that the government has been the most useful when it just stood aside. He goes on to talk about many accomplishments in the country, and how they weren't really caused by the government, but by the people. Thoreau says that the government listens to the majority, which sometimes shouldn't always be the cause because in some instances the government should listen to the smarter and more thoughtful group. Another point he makes is that too much law can cause people to do a lot of stupid things. Thoreau's conclusion is hat we should avoid government all together and it is our duty to rebel.
          Thoreau writes all these things because he wants to stop slavery and the Mexican War. I think that he has a very strong claim with very supportive reasons. The back up for his claim are very persuasive because they seem appealing to men. However some would rebuttal that although there is room for improvement, the government is important to keep the structure and order in the United States. I think that all of his reasons are very logical and for a good cause (ending war and slavery), however we need a government to stabilize the country.

Question: What exactly would he want in place of a government to keep order?

Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Nature"

          In his eight chapters in 'Nature' by Ralph Waldo Emerson writes about his basic ideas of the harmony of mankind and nature. He says that nature and humans are linked, and that nature shows a deeper wisdom, happiness, and "always wears the colors of the spirit". Emerson expresses a commodity of nature and humans, saying that they work hand-in-hand with each other, complimenting each other. He gives an example that with a work of nature, animals get fed which feed humans. Beauty also provides a connection between man and nature, because they are both full of truth and beauty. Emerson says that language started off using symbols of nature to communicate between humans. He also states that discipline, idealism, and spirit connect humans and nature. He concludes with prospects. Nature, commodity, beauty, discipline, idealism, spirit, and prospects are Emerson's main points that connect nature and humans.
         Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson discusses  how our universe is made up of nature and the soul. This opposes what the first settlers would have said. They would have argued and said that nature is evil, bad, and people should stay away from it. However over time you see a change in perspective on nature. It slowly devolves from being the enemy to being good. John Edwards says that nature is actually good, it is just mad at humans.However among the years the relationship between nature and humans has developed into a harmonious liked relationship instead of a rivalry.

Question: Does he believe that nature and humans are on the same level?