Is Google Changing Us?

Nicholas Carr in the article states the point that technology is changing the way we think and affecting our ability to concentrate and contemplate.  I agree for the following reasons:

1. The more I use the internet, the more I have problems reading novels and getting myself deeply into a book or long article.  I am so used to skimming information and news articles online and have information so easily that when I have to read a long school assignment I find myself having difficulties concentrating and my mind starts to wander.

2. I have had many college reading assignments from online sources, rather than chapters in textbooks.  Teachers are more likely to put up readings online than to require readings in textbooks because its "easier" to access and get a hold of. Due to the access to numerous other web sources, I find it harder to concentrate while reading online. For example, while doing the readings for certain homework assignments online, I occasionlly find myself scrolling through social networks such as facebook or twitter feeds within ten minutes of the assignment.

3. While online the chances of recieving false or inaccurate information becomes greater.  Most websites are created by random users around the world, who can put up anything they want.  For instance, Wikipedia is used to put up random information about anything that anyone can edit and post.

4. I am so reliant upon using the internet as the source of my knowledge that I even forget what certain words mean. This is due to the usage of google to look up the meaning of any unknown words.

In the end I have to ask, what makes people smart these days.  Is it to know hundreds of facts and be what they call "a walking dictionary" or to be able to be a great critical thinker and be able to contemplate many things?

Google is still a great tool in source of knowledge, but you must still have the discipline to be able to maintain the skills required for critical thinking.