Is Google Making Us Stupid?

"And what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation."

I was watching Thumbsucker yesterday and when I saw Lou Pucci's character read Moby Dick from front to back in one sitting, it brought back memories of reading long, complex books as a high school student in my room. Now, as a graduate with a masters degree and countless books on my shelves that I read long ago, I find it harder and harder to find the time or ability to sit back and read books the same way.

An article that I read today on a friend's blog, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" from this weeks Atlantic Monthly made me wonder if the internet might be somewhat to blame. I couldn't help but agree with most of the article and I thought of all the different links I check daily, how much time I spend on Google Reader, and how the ability to focus these days seems to take on heroic connotations. (See this article on "The Frozen Gaze" of Tiger Woods)

"In a period that has brought us instant messaging, multitasking, wireless distractions and attention deficit disorder, Woods has become the exemplar of mental discipline."

Maybe the next Superman will be a character with the highest aptitude for weeding out the useful from the useless, the distracting from the meaningful. Maybe the next Superman is the person who only checks their e-mail once a day?