Some time back The Atlantic ran a provocative story that asked: Is Google Making Us Stupid?
Well, the folks at Pew asked that to experts. The results are here, but the short answer is -- at least according to the experts -- no, Google is not making us stupid. Or, rather, they anticipate the expansion of Google and similar services will make us smarter, more efficient, and have a higher IQ.
Where do I fall? Well, I can't imagine any Internet service actually improving IQ. That would be odd and, to me, unlikely. I do think young people are better at finding stuff out, but perhaps they do not know as much. In other words, why store all those awful factoids with you can, in a click or push of a button, know. I blogged about this here. In terms of politics, a certain base of knowledge is vital for the orderly interpretation and integration of new information -- which is a fancy way of saying you gotta know something to learn something. Just looking it up, even a skilled search, is not enough.
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