In the beginning..... He had no idea what he was doing :D

Hello, my name is Jesse and I am here to discuss today's culture with you. It's my hope that what I leave you with here is something that makes you think. I hope my words leave you considering, and asking yourself why our world is as it is. I hope to make you wonder how things happen, why they effect our culture and responses in the way they do, and if these effects should be considered good or bad. 

Today we're going to discuss the Internet. Recently in my English class, our textbook had a section titled "is google making us stupid?" This chapter addressed the idea that the Internet is effecting the way we interpret and remember information. Today is a time of immediate satisfaction. Any question you may have, be it about science, technology, electronics, math, or pop culture, the answer to an infinite array of questions is a mere keystroke away. Now I don't generally think much about anything that goes on in English class outside of my English class, but this concept stuck with me. Throughout this chapter in our textbook multiple scholars, scientists, and journalists were asked how this instant access to the questions of the world had changed the way they thought. Every single one of them had noticed changes in their behaviors and responses. Some had a harder time reading long passages, some found their minds wandering at the strangest of times, and others noted that they had a harder time retaining and remembering information. All of the people who wrote passages and commented in this section noted that all of these struggles began with the birth of the Internet. Now I'm no expert on the matter,  but when I read that people with Phd's and Doctorates are having the same problems with retaining material and paying attention that I struggle with, it catches my attention! This.. Hypothesis, has occupied my thoughts over the last few months, and has prompted me to make an effort to change the way I think, write, and research. Instead of allowing my mind to wander while reading a long passage for school, I bear down and focus on the piece. I find myself being able to recall the information afterwards much better than before. Now, instead of running to google when I have a quote or passage to look up, I go to the text and look for the section I'm looking for. I've noticed that this extra time and effort spent looking for the material forces my brain to stay focused, and when I've found the section I've been searching for, I find that I pay much more attention to what the quote or passage actually says. 

Now I named this blog artificial intelligence with the idea of this first post in mind. I believe that this world of immediate satisfaction, where a bank of artificial knowledge and intelligence is just a few clicks away, has greatly influenced our culture, in so many small ways over so many years that 99% of people have taken no real notice of the change. I believe that we have shorter attention spans, that we have an over reliance on external resources for information, and that this has resulted in less brain excercise, a strong decrease in self reliance, creativity, and risk taking. I mean this not only in a literal sense. Yes I believe we are less willing to put our idea out into the open and try new things, for risk of judgement and embarrassment, but I believe that this timid nature goes farther. I believe that instant access to virtual worlds, images and pictures from around the world, video and documentation of things that the risk takers of this world are doing, I think all of that exposure to the world has hindered our willingness and desire to go do those things ourselves. Why go skydiving and risk your life and safety when you can watch people do it in first person? Why spend the money to go see rio when your can virtually hang glide around the city? Now I understand that plenty of people are actually inspired to go experience the world by this exposure, but is it possible that there are just as many people that are discouraged by this? I don't have the answer to these questions I ask, only the ability to ask myself. What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with me? How do you think these changes have effected us, the way we think, interact, and live? Try as I did to counteract your struggles with attention and your ability to remember material, and let me know if you notice any changes in the comments. Thank you, all of you, for taking the time to read this and I hope that I've been able to make you all ponder some questions about life. Until next time.