Quote: Original post by Zahlman
The main (only, really) effect that I've noticed is that Google's existence makes it more likely for a question in a casual internet conversation to be answered with a snide LGMTFY link, "lrn2google" etc. While it's true that the information is "right there", people seem to be forgetting the social purpose of asking each other about trivial things.

I totally agree with this; actually technical questions are the tip of the iceberg. I have been to social forums, where new members start a topic about 'life' issues, like relationships, and old members tell them they didn't have to start a new topic, instead search for old topics with the same question and read them! Wth? Is it totally lost on this people that the OP doesn't want an answer to a homework question, but to communicate with other human beings? Google is wonderful for finding and filtering information, but it doesn't substitute freaking conversations.

Just wait until Google Implant Beta comes along to make the google search transparent from within the human brain. Then we all know everything.

Quote: Original post by Zahlman
The main (only, really) effect that I've noticed is that Google's existence makes it more likely for a question in a casual internet conversation to be answered with a snide LGMTFY link, "lrn2google" etc. While it's true that the information is "right there", people seem to be forgetting the social purpose of asking each other about trivial things.

I agree. Often much more stimulating related discussion follows such trivial questions.

The one thing I worry about people "googling" information is the validity of the answers they find. There is a lot of things out there that is just patently false. The internet doesn't have any editorial control so anyone can pose as an expert. Whomever speaks the loudest or is visited/linked most often comes up higher in the search, and that information can be wrong. Add in "sponsored links", scams, astroturfing, and intentional misinformation, there will be people who will accept what they find as being the truth.

Skepticism is needed. Society will be damned if what constitutes as a fact is based on the popularity of statement.

I had a similar conversation with someone who was saying that GPS devices were going to cause people to forget how to read maps. I guess in the long term this could be true, but is that a bad thing? How many people these days could navigate using nothing but the stars as their guide?

Quote: Original post by cyansoft
The one thing I worry about people "googling" information is the validity of the answers they find. There is a lot of things out there that is just patently false. The internet doesn't have any editorial control so anyone can pose as an expert. Whomever speaks the loudest or is visited/linked most often comes up higher in the search, and that information can be wrong. Add in "sponsored links", scams, astroturfing, and intentional misinformation, there will be people who will accept what they find as being the truth.

Skepticism is needed. Society will be damned if what constitutes as a fact is based on the popularity of statement.

All of this exists in prior mediums, and even lack of editorial control on the internet is handled through different means.

For example, if it weren't for the internet, we would probably still be repeating the veritable litany of useless and wrong old wives' tales like "don't swim for 30 minutes after eating", or "Being too close to the TV makes you go blind" to the next generation; I'm sure some people still do.

Anyway, the editorial control happens via the popularity of truth. People generally like to correct others, appear smart, and know something; This is one reason why mythbusters and snopes are popular to interested laypersons who would otherwise be disinterested.

If you look at newspapers, and even textbooks, the problems are still there. If you want to correct something in a textbook, but you're not on the editorial board, what can you do?
... well you can always make a website, or contribute to one. :)

Now, I'm not saying that this means everything out there is true, because obviously the problem isn't in the medium, but in the way people function. I do believe it's a step in the right direction, however.

Most (or at least a lot of) people takes everything as facts without critique. It's not related to internet. I don't want to list examples, because some of them would be perfect flame-baits. (And I think my style in owl's suspense-bait thread have put me in a near-suspended situation.)

Im sure the average intelligence level in the west will decrease in time, not cause of google or reality tv etc, but primary due to the *fact* that

#A the lesser intelligence you have the more children you will produce on average
#B though this is balanced out a bit by the lesser intelligent have a greater likelyhood to die earlier, though still not enuf to fully override #A

Quote: Original post by zedz
Im sure the average intelligence level in the west will decrease in time, not cause of google or reality tv etc, but primary due to the *fact* that

#A the lesser intelligence you have the more children you will produce on average
#B though this is balanced out a bit by the lesser intelligent have a greater likelyhood to die earlier, though still not enuf to fully override #A

Let's just assume that's true.
Cool, now all you need to do is prove that the majority will have less intelligent children than they are. Otherwise, all you've proved is that the intelligence might not be increasing as much as it could be, not that it's decreasing.

Quote: intelligence: noun (1) the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. (2) a person with this ability.

That's a nice definition. It's a shame no one uses it.

Intelligence is considered a bad thing in modern culture. Intelligence makes you pretentious, arrogant, stuck-up, suck-up, and egoistical. The worst thing you can do to someone is call them intelligent in public. You've instantly made 90% of people hate their guts. People hear the word 'smart' and immediately think "What a prick, trying to make himself look better than everyone else".

Logic is flip-flopping. Reason is pretentious. Responsibility is boring.
Brashness is courage. Stubborness is integrity. Ignorance is relatable.

People aren't being made dumb, they're choosing to be.