JESSE BROWN: Does the Internet Make You Dumber?

[barudzija7]

i hope they pass sopa and pipa. all those sheep that call other people sheep are just sheep when you think about it.

[pendulousphallus]

Read a god-damn book every once in a while. Problem solved.

[lilcheevous]

exactly! look up gamers decode aids protein, it's a perfect example of collective problem solving however I still think the "learned men" lol are still vital to human advancement.

[bryanrock101]

I think I should Stop using internet .. My grades are getting lower and Lower ..

[PetitJoueurPS3]

@bryanrock101 Me too 

[wwalcott93]

the music really annoying

[joeyrifficify]

@Enigmalusion Which one are they, idiots or morons?

[joeyrifficify]

@Enigmalusion Agrees with what?

[ThePirateship2010]

This is true. I noticed my attention span has gotten much shorter. I can't even watch 15 minutes of YT video without "rewinding" the parts I lost focus. And I have hard time remembering/memorizing things as well. I blame the radiation emitting from the comp.

[LendMeYourHand]

Its mainstream media that lies. If you want to be an idiot then watch TV. All of us smart people will use the internet for the truth. mainstream media lacks any critical thinking, they decide for you. So your saying people that type short messages are smarter than people who fill the page with large paragraghs explaining complex subjects?? I am beginning to wonder who the stupid one here really is. To say the internet makes people stupid is the dumbest thing ive ever heard.

[LendMeYourHand]

Intelligence is perception & imagination.. So if you have both of these, the internet will indeed increase your intelligence. I think all of the time when i watch or read on the internet. Sure there are opinions controlled by agendas like Carbon Dioxide global warming, but there is also science available that proves its bullshit. Logical thinking can then form conclusive evidence that Nuclear agents from the same corporations that push the propaganda of non science are involved.

[RIPdixiecarter]

The interbutts doesn't make you dumb. Being dumb makes you dumb.Researching a certain topic on google is the same convenience as researching something from an outdated encyclopedia from the 60s the only difference being speed and according to these wannabe pseudo "intellectuals" the definition of stupid is lazy which has applied to the same individuals before the interwebz. Blame the person not the object.

[fr3d420]

I dont even need to watch your shitty video, the answer is No.

[Hopeful71]

Complex ideas demand complex understanding, NOT sound bite elevator pitches. There is a ton of actual studies that demonstrates that kids are losing their ability for complex reasoning. This is not memorizing, this is the thinking you are referring to

Also, knowing "things" builds a foundation to advance your mastery of something. Google only works when you know what you are looking for. A 2 year old can google how to build perform brain surgury, but a PhD can use his knowledge to cure cancer

[shanitaunal]

Date a Asian lady # lushfmlk.info #

[eatmycookieface]

well said man

[joeyrifficify]

@eatmycookieface Which man?

[2010stupidass]

im on the computer all the time memory gets better every day for me

[RomeoCo]

All I can say is, my memory has gotten a lot better. That's all I can really say.

[joeyrifficify]

@RomeoCo My memory is pretty good, too. I think it's about 4GB. Or was it 3GB? Hmmm, I forgot.

[emailroy2002]

the most dumb person is you! posting your dumb video on youtube.

[emailroy2002]

thanks to you im now dumber than before by watching you on youtube.

[moopfather]

This sounds like propaganda;without the internet the people would be in the dark about the truth!

[wtfmaker2596]

he internet dosent make you dumber it only makes your stupidity more easy to access :D yay for the internet the internet 4 EVER!!!

[cpt1chris]

i like jesse's progressive way of thinking about thinking. i always wonder if the ability to do long divisions by hand, know roman numerals or memorize the names of every part of an animal cell is actual 'learning'. ‬

we need to teach students and ourselves more critical thinking and less memorization. we live in a world where general knowledge is instantly accessible. sure you can recite all your countries former leaders names, but what good is that if we are all able to look it up instantly?

[baabaa33]

internet is awesome! this video is retarded

[jhnd2010]

@baabaa33 You are living proof that the Internet makes you dumber. Really. And you topped it all off with your incredibly unitellegentlly, politically incorrect vocabulary. Of all words, "retarded"?

[baabaa33]

@jhnd2010 give me a break...

without the internet u would be crying right now

[jhnd2010]

@baabaa33 I'm not saying that the internet is bad, but it certainly is affecting peoples attention span, etc. I love the internet too, but all things in moderation!

Peace, man.

[RIPdixiecarter]

@jhnd2010 I've been browsing the interbutts for about 5 years currently. My attention span seems to be improving rather than declining although having a short attention span or unfocused attention span doesn't necessarily mean dumb. Unless you consider Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, and ALBERT EINSTEIN all who had ADD/ADHD dumb as well.

If you do there is indeed no hope for you and anything you claim is considered null and void.

There is much more positives than negatives.

[RIPdixiecarter]

@jhnd2010 Not everyone's an idiot such as baabaa33 which isn't the interwebz fault as much as irresponsible parents are. I consider him to be a newfag.

[hughstimson]

I'm curious Jesse: was the final collaged newspaper meant to be an honest representation, or was it just a nice bit of theatre? I tried the same thing with yesterdays Globe and Mail (sans scissors, I admit) and I found more than 4 pages of non-wire-service actual reportage in the first half of the front section before I quit.

And now I will cast this comment into the black hole that is Youtube comment threads.

[1234567loading]

do you believe him? what should i do if i am a computing student and i have to use internet at least 8 hours daily???

[gl600fb]

this video is stupid

[sumware]

As a college prof who teaches about the internet, I'm glad to have students watch . I'll reiterate your points

#1- What are we going to do about it? There is NO turning back.

#2 Real intelligence is about thinking, not memorizing (when are school officials & government with its "No child left behind" testing going to understand?)

#3 A new concept of intelligence - What we can accomplish TOGETHER (social media) WITH information and ideas and less about our ability to sign our names to them

[TheWh4T]

lol.

[hangover71]

I was going to comment, but can;t remember what you said..

[cyndrellian]

the information superhighway should have been called the back road? yea and the library should be called the dumb a rary.. you can't get any information from either one...watch lamestream folks, it's where they want ya...fry ya brainz!

[Manusturbo]

Their point was about consistency of thought and concentration, not how much fragmented information you can amass. You can get all the information you want, but if you don't have the patience or originality to analyze and interpret them in your own way, you're no better than an information-hoarder like Kim Peek was.

[cyndrellian]

omg haha

[cyndrellian]

so you're saying after you watch, analyze links, videos and other resources on the net, to make your own video to sum it all up, what if you don't have time to do that, does that make you a kim peek fan.... if you don't have the time, people should stay away from learning several things at once, is this right, let me know so I can make sure I do this "right" and not like kim peel HAHAHAH OMMMMG

[Manusturbo]

My, you're good at creating strawmen so you can laugh at what I didn't say :)

It's not how much you know, it's how you derive meaning from what you know that really matters. Two people could read the bible, one could come away with an understanding of a primitive society, another could come to the conclusion that gays will go to hell and earth is 6000 years old.

The Kim Peek analogy wasn't directed to you, but the millions of wiki stumblers who hoard information for the sake of it.

[Manusturbo]

Ironically, your comment is interesting, because it proves the point in the video: instead of reading/interpreting, it sounds like you scanned through my comment and cherry picked words. I wouldn't say we're dumber, but our way of reading things is changing. It used to be you had to read things linearly. Now it's too easy to be postmodern and mix ideas with information in hyperlink. I'd say we're getting more creative with ideas but there are hardly any holistic or cohesive thinkers anymore.

[cyndrellian]

I did cherry pick words, because people don't have all the time in the world to look at everything, it's just a fact, you could also go into a library and read a non fiction book about history and would you really know that it is 100% true, unless you were actually THERE?  So it's either one extreme or the other it sounds like i haven't fully watched this video, but is the idea to either fully dissect everything or learn NOTHING at all?

[Calliope222]

So, because people don't have time anymore (and yet, in the not-too-distant past, which had its own distractions, people somehow found time), and because nothing can be proved 100%, we should just give up? Unacceptable. I would rather fill my mind with inaccuracies than put nothing but frivolities into it. I realize this, too, creates a binary of extremes, but I'm sorry; I just don't think it's acceptable to ignore the past. Real or not, winner's or loser's story, we can learn so much from it.

[cyndrellian]

i know i can't believe someone would actually take the time to make a video that is just completely worthless

[Manusturbo]

These ideas aren't new, really. People have been questioning the shifting nature of information and how it's perceived every time there's a the birth of new media. For every critic of innovation there'll be a Roland (the death of the author) Barthes and a David (The death of print) Carson, people who not only acknowledge but embrace these changes whole-heartedly.

There's no "right" way to read or think, but we just risk becoming a dilettante at the end of the day.

[Luinreg]

A very interesting suggestion and it is commendable. However the ability to remember and memorize events is very critical to humanity and our society.

For example, politics. The very bevy of vitriol can be applied to any situation. To those that read this, do any of you really remember the past decade and how the politics of the previous administration have affected us? Or is it just easier to blame it all on Obama without remembering the history.

[Luinreg]

Do you also remember that the majority of this nation voted for change? Voted for health care, voted for environmentalism, voted to end the war on terror.

Or is it too easy to say that we want change and that change is going to be done by the tea party movement voting republican. The very same group that had their policies enacted that caused the massive job losses.

Yes the internet is making us less wise and less intelligent and the ability to not remember the why is hindering our politics.

[GARATINAW]

stupid..@lung/person/fugly/thi­ngamabbobber=D

[Adrenalinejunkie1096]

@Luinreg Fact is Obama has raised taxes on the wealthy substantial amounts, which is unfair. Why should we be punished for being succesful? And also obama has not done anything he has promised.

[Luinreg]

Ya know that the only tax hike on the wealthy by Pelosi was only 5.4%.

The remaining tax hikes? Well that is the expiration of the Bush tax cuts which was enacted by reconciliation(51 votes) and was one of the first actions Bush 43 took when stepping into office.

Also historically you do know the wealthy compared to America's glory day aftermath of WW2 the rich paid significantly more than today's wealthy.

CONT.

[Luinreg]

As the way you frame your question. Considering taxes is the 16th amendment in our constitution so you aren't being punished for being successful. It is part of your social contract with this country to follow the tax laws which is based on your yearly income. That income is used to fund the government from military, to food stamps to grants, to medicare and it is a package deal.

[Luinreg]

Now keep in mind I criticize Obama because I'm a rational republican. However from where we were a year ago compared to today? We are a lot better off.

For example, Obama promised to end the war on terror. That ball is rolling where Obama has given the military 18 months to get the job done and move military forces.

Give me a moment and I'll get you more.

[Luinreg]

As for job loss? Yeah it's still pretty bad at 10% but if you watched the local news most local stations were reporting since the fall that job losses have been doing down and less people have been claiming for unemployment benefits.

The washington monthly on DEC.4th. Steve Bennen and his section Political Animal wrote an article that commented on the jobs lost since the recession. In that article there is a graph that you should look at.

[Luinreg]

As for science? Remember how big stem cell research and the ban was during the Bush administration because of right to life?

Well the ban thanks to Obama is now gone. So now scientists can now get resources from the government to research the potential of stem cells. Something Reeve(superman) fought for until his last breath.

[Luinreg]

Economy has been saved to prevent the depression which was a key platform for both McCain and Obama.

Our international stature has been restored where Obama has visited more world leaders in their home countries than any other president in a single year.

It's really hard to truly notice under the outrage and molehill mountain stories that this year has been great for the United States. It just takes some personal research that no news or radio network can offer it all.

[alexjestaire]

"The problem is, after a week of intense googling, weve started to burn out on knowing the answer to everything. God must feel that way all the time. I think people in the year 2020 are going to be nostalgic for the sensation of feeling clueless." Douglas Coupland - JPod - P287

[ytwatchpagetester]

good

[Arenlph]

Love your show but this doesn't do anything for me. I'll stick to the podcast for now.

[carolinebeavon]

Great video - keep them coming!

How about "Is social media JUST for geeks?"

Caroline

[LockeShocke]

Certainly, critical thinking skills and long-term memory are both good things. I'm not sure the Internet nourishes either. But it's good to remind everyone that, after all, we are making the totality of human information instantly accessible to everyone on the planet at all times. As if to say, Get over it, this is clearly a good thing on balance. Kudos.

[olver14]

You just blew my mind, searchengineTVO. Now you owe me money.

[mistralist]

Great job, Jesse, very nice.

[gregalam]

Awesome! Love the video Jesse.

I'm always unsure when something switches a medium (radio to video) whether it will be as good or not. You've lost nothing in the transition from radio to video in this.

In fact, your sense of humour is even better in video as you're able to present supporting visuals as you talk (pictures and expressions) that you aren't able to put across on radio.

I've subscribed and looking forward to more!

[CastleIsland]

Great job! I once attended a lecture by a retiring professor who complained loudly at the lose of Greek and Latin use in university and that was my first realization that the definition of "knowledge" is always changing.

[searchengineTVO]

It looks weird until you view it while wearing 3D glasses, olver14

[olver14]

I can't quite figure it out...is your hair smouldering gently? Or did you use a green screen to get that awesome 'wall' effect behind you? Because, if so, there are simpler alternatives. Such as actual walls.

[at0mnonymous]

Awesome Jesse! Look forward to more of these

[subtlevox]

Good going Jesse! this is a great transition to the moving image. Keep these coming.

[iamwubby]

Excellent. I'd write something more, but I'm looking for that Beyonce video on my iPhone right now. kthnxbai!