Is-Google-Making-Us-Stupid----Nicholas-Carr---The-

2014年4月17日IsGoogleMakingUsStupid?-NicholasCarr-TheAtlantic|Close•SUBSCRIBE•RENEW•GIVEAGIFT•DIGITALEDITIONIsGoogleMakingUsStupid?WHATTHEINTERNETISDOINGTOOURBRAINSByNicholasCarrIllustrationbyGuyBilloutDave,stop.Stop,willyou?Stop,Dave.Willyoustop,Dave?”SothesupercomputerHALpleadswiththeimplacableastronautDaveBowmaninafamousandweirdlypoignantscenetowardtheendofStanleyKubrick’s2001:ASpaceOdyssey.Bowman,havingnearlybeensenttoadeep-spacedeathbythemalfunctioningmachine,iscalmly,coldlydisconnectingthememorycircuitsthatcontrolitsartificial“brain.“Dave,mymindisgoing,”HALsays,forlornly.“Icanfeelit.Icanfeelit.”Icanfeelit,too.OverthepastfewyearsI’vehadanuncomfortablesensethatsomeone,orsomething,hasbeentinkeringwithmybrain,remappingtheneuralcircuitry,reprogrammingthememory.Mymindisn’tgoing—sofarasIcantell—butit’schanging.I’mnotthinkingthewayIusedtothink.IcanfeelitmoststronglywhenI’mreading.Immersingmyselfinabookoralengthyarticleusedtobeeasy.Mymindwouldgetcaughtupinthenarrativeortheturnsoftheargument,andI’dspendhoursstrollingthroughlongstretchesofprose.That’srarelythecaseanymore.Nowmyconcentrationoftenstartstodriftaftertwoorthreepages.Igetfidgety,losethethread,beginlookingforsomethingelsetodo.IfeelasifI’malwaysdraggingmywaywardbrainbacktothetext.Thedeepreadingthatusedtocomenaturallyhasbecomeastruggle.IthinkIknowwhat’sgoingon.Formorethanadecadenow,I’vebeenspendingalotoftimeonline,searchingandsurfingandsometimesaddingtothegreatdatabasesoftheInternet.TheWebhasbeenagodsendtomeasawriter.Researchthatoncerequireddaysinthestacksorperiodicalroomsoflibrariescannowbedoneinminutes.AfewGooglesearches,somequickclicksonhyperlinks,andI’vegotthetelltalefactorpithyquoteIwasafter.EvenwhenI’mnotworking,I’maslikelyasnottobeforagingintheWeb’sinfo-thickets’readingandwritinge-mails,scanningheadlinesandblogposts,watchingvideosandlisteningtopodcasts,orjusttrippingfromlinktolinktolink.(Unlikefootnotes,to2014年4月17日IsGoogleMakingUsStupid?-NicholasCarr-TheAtlantic’resometimeslikened,hyperlinksdon’tmerelypointtorelatedworks;theypropelyoutowardthem.)Forme,asforothers,theNetisbecomingauniversalmedium,theconduitformostoftheinformationthatflowsthroughmyeyesandearsandintomymind.Theadvantagesofhavingimmediateaccesstosuchanincrediblyrichstoreofinformationaremany,andthey’vebeenwidelydescribedanddulyapplauded.“Theperfectrecallofsiliconmemory,”Wired’sCliveThompsonhaswritten,“canbeanenormousboontothinking.”Butthatbooncomesataprice.AsthemediatheoristMarshallMcLuhanpointedoutinthe1960s,mediaarenotjustpassivechannelsofinformation.Theysupplythestuffofthought,buttheyalsoshapetheprocessofthought.AndwhattheNetseemstobedoingischippingawaymycapacityforconcentrationandcontemplation.MymindnowexpectstotakeininformationthewaytheNetdistributesit:inaswiftlymovingstreamofparticles.OnceIwasascubadiverintheseaofwords.NowIzipalongthesurfacelikeaguyonaJetSki.I’mnottheonlyone.WhenImentionmytroubleswithreadingtofriendsandacquaintances—literarytypes,mostofthem—manysaythey’rehavingsimilarexperiences.ThemoretheyusetheWeb,themoretheyhavetofighttostayfocusedonlongpiecesofwriting.SomeofthebloggersIfollowhavealsobegunmentioningthephenomenon.ScottKarp,whowritesablogaboutonlinemedia,recentlyconfessedthathehasstoppedreadingbooksaltogether.“Iwasalitmajorincollege,andusedtobe[a]voraciousbookreader,”hewrote.“Whathappened?”Hespeculatesontheanswer:“WhatifIdoallmyreadingonthewebnotsomuchbecausethewayIreadhaschanged,i.e.I’mjustseekingconvenience,butbecausethewayITHINKhaschanged?”BruceFriedman,whoblogsregularlyabouttheuseofcomputersinmedicine,alsohasdescribedhowtheInternethasalteredhismentalhabits.“Inowhavealmosttotallylosttheabilitytoreadandabsorbalongisharticleontheweborinprint,”hewroteearlierthisyear.ApathologistwhohaslongbeenonthefacultyoftheUniversityofMichiganMedicalSchool,Friedmanelaboratedonhiscommentinatelephoneconversationwithme.Histhinking,hesaid,hastakenona“staccato”quality,reflectingthewayhequicklyscansshortpassagesoftextfrommanysourcesonline.“Ican’treadWarandPeaceanymore,”headmitted.“I’velosttheabilitytodothat.Evenablogpostofmorethanthreeorfourparagraphsistoomuchtoabsorb.Iskimit.”Anecdotesalonedon’tprovemuch.Andwestillawaitthelong-termneurologicalandpsychologicalexperimentsthatwillprovideadefinitivepictureofhowInternetuseaffectscognition.Butarecentlypublishedstudyofonlineresearchhabits,conductedbyscholarsfromUniversityCollegeLondon,suggeststhatwemaywellbeinthemidstofaseachangeinthewaywereadandthink.Aspartofthefive-yearresearchprogram,thescholarsexaminedcomputerlogsdocumentingthebehaviorofvisitorstotwopopularresearchsites,oneoperatedbytheBritishLibraryandonebyaU.K.educationalconsortium,thatprovideaccesstojournalarticles,e-books,andothersourcesofwritteninformation.Theyfoundthatpeopleusingthesitesexhibited“aformofskimmingactivity,”hoppingfromonesourcetoanotherandrarelyreturningtoanysourcethey’dalreadyvisited