I know this has been discussed before. In fact, I know that Issac Asimov wrote a story about a society that basically forgot how to do math. It’s an interesting story and one that makes me think occasionally. I used to be better at math, but even now challenged by basic adding of anything over two digits, I reach for the calculator.
Such is what we are brought to when we rely on technology. When Google today started behaving badly and sent every link to a page saying the site might harm your computer, it had me worried.
I actually thought for awhile that I just wouldn’t do any search this morning. I didn’t want to go to Yahoo or, God forbid, MS Live search. I wanted Google. This is the power they hold. And it’s a scary one really.
The thought now is that people just don’t know how to do research properly because Google is the first, and usually last, place that people look. In the course of my job, I use it nearly every day to find out the answers to my technical (and not so technical) questions. If Google were to go down, what would fill the gap? Would we actually try to learn to research again?
In a way, it makes me want to at least learn again how to do math. It’s not like I forgot everything, but the speed and ease of my youth have frittered away. It can be reclaimed, but it will take work. I hope I’m up to this, something which should be relatively easy.
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