Category: Writing

Identify how each of these words were created
Chillax
Answer 1
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Sonar
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Laser
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PNP
Answer 4
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Lifehack
Answer 5
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Confucianism
Answer 6
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Ship (as in to ship a package bought abroad)
Answer 7
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Smartwatch
Answer 8
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Activism
Answer 9
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Liaise
Answer 10
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Identify the parts of speech in the sentence. It is fill in the blank and not every word will be used and some might be used twice.
The options are:
a. gerund
b. 3rd person singular
c. common noun
d. infinitive
e. reflexive pronoun
f. adverb
g. conjunction
h. conjunctive adverb
i. preposition
j. adjective
k. subordinating conjunction
l. linking verb/past
m. possessive noun
n. proper noun
o. correlative conjunction
p. action verb/past
q. helping verb
r. article
s. 1st person singular
t. relative pronoun
byuis.agilixbuzz.com For the next three questions, you will be diagramming the provided sentence in three different ways. “Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction.” 1. Here, you will be identifying the parts of speech in the sentence. “Destiny was too potent v, and her immutable laws had decreed my V utter and terrible destruction

The Lamb BY WILLIAM BLAKE Little Lamb who made thee           Dost thou know who made thee  Gave thee life & bid thee feed.  By the stream & o’er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing wooly bright; Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice!           Little Lamb who made thee           Dost thou know who made thee           Little Lamb I’ll tell thee,          Little Lamb I’ll tell thee! He is called by thy name, For he calls himself a Lamb:  He is meek & he is mild,  He became a little child:  I a child & thou a lamb,  We are called by his name.          Little Lamb God bless thee.           Little Lamb God bless thee. – – – – – The Tyger  BY WILLIAM BLAKE Tyger Tyger, burning bright,  In the forests of the night;  What immortal hand or eye,  Could frame thy fearful symmetry? In what distant deeps or skies.  Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand, dare seize the fire? And what shoulder, & what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand? & what dread feet? What the hammer? what the chain,  In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? what dread grasp,  Dare its deadly terrors clasp!  When the stars threw down their spears  And water’d heaven with their tears:  Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee? Tyger Tyger burning bright,  In the forests of the night:  What immortal hand or eye, Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
The Scarlet Letter: Chap. 7-8 Pearl: Lamb or Tiger? 1. Read William Blake’s poems The Lamb and The Tyger, and observe the
traits that Blake gives each animal. What distinction does he make between the two animals? List two traits and a quote from each
poem to support your answer. The Lamb Trait Quotation Explanation

Reference
https://medium.com/thrive-global/how-technology-hijacks-peoples-minds-from-a-magician-and-google-s-design-ethicist-56d62ef5edf3
What does Tristan Harris mean when he “technology is hijacking your mind?” Explain his theories as well as give at least 2 specific examples from your own personal experience with the online world.

Thesis Statement: Subject A: Traditional teenagers Point 1: Use of technological gadgets Subject B: Modern teenagers Subject A:
Traditional teenagers Point 2: Subject B: Modern teenagers Subject A: Traditional teenagers Point 3: Subject B: Modern teenagers
Subject A: Traditional teenagers Point 4: Subject B: Modern teenagers Conclusion:

Source: https:/ /www.pixabay.com Similarities: Differences:
Construct sentences by comparing and constructing the images below. Use the transition
devices below to highlight similarities and differences.
TO MIL RIC “MMVH VSVINOHI LOVENVIL OL PRACTICAL G YOU’RE O EXTVNV walk along the stein and my durline daunt bots bellove that shel you canmat sue well came to miss. run tribu the sheer pat hit bya car and die sounds like a pretty ridealong to marking that will anebula Mean your burdenon the or Yet we bet this way when we worry, WA blaw y chapter all never un mir the co.hugo Don’t worry cubeand fear indiend. takeyour four ant I want up in the cider The car nearly hit a b way to the Land casting d your career stopped thelies wrath the front window of a word, “thing, went quint in the ra i Kat Thin befishing lane. heing costa lane way may inan pea those d’s hands leave your warne then Helove. and Source: https:/ /www.pixabay.com Similarities: Differences:

Excerpt from Bartolome de las Casas’
A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies
: CUBA
In 1511 the Spanish set foot on Cuba. This island, which, as we have said, stretched for a distance as great as that which separates Valladolid from Rome, was home to a great many people. The Spanish set about treating them all in the manner we have already described, only even more cruelly. A number of extraordinary incidents took place here. One of the leading local lords, a cacique who went by the name of Hatuey, had fled to the island from Hispaniola with many of his people in order to escape the miseries that arose from the inhuman treatment meted out to the natives of that island by the Spanish. When he heard that the Christians had now switched their attention to Cuba, he gathered most if not all his people about him and addressed them, saying: ‘You know that rumour has it that the Christians are coming to this island, and you already know what they have done to the lord so-and-so and so-and-so and so-and-so. What they did on Haiti (which is another name for Hispaniola) they will do again here. Does any of you know why it is that they behave in this way?’ And when they answered him: ‘No, unless it be that they are innately cruel and evil’, he replied: ‘It is not simply that. They have a God whom they worship and adore, and it is in order to get that God from us so that they can worship Him that they conquer us and kill us.’ He had beside him, as he spoke, a basket filled with gold jewellery and he said:
‘Here is the God of the Christians. If you agree, we will do
areitos
(which is their word for certain kinds of traditional dance) in honour of this God and it may be that we shall please Him and He will order the Christians to leave us unharmed.’ They all shouted: ‘So be it, so be it.’ And after they had danced before this god until they were dropping from exhaustion, the lord Hatuey addressed them once again, saying: ‘Mark you: if we keep this God about us, they will kill us in order to get their hands on Him. Let us throw Him into this river.’ And they were all agreed, and so they threw the god into a great river nearby.
This same cacique and lord knew the Spaniards and their ways only too well and he fled from them once they arrived on the island of Cuba, only resorting to outright resistance when they actually tracked him down. But, eventually, he was captured and, although his only crime was that he had tried to escape the clutches of these cruel and iniquitous monsters because he knew only too well that they were out to kill him and that, if he did not defend himself, they would hound him and all his people to death, the Spaniards’ verdict was that he should be burned alive. Once he was tied to the stake, a Franciscan friar who was present, a saintly man, told him as much as he could in the short time permitted by his executioners about the Lord and about our Christian faith, all of which was new to him. The friar told him that, if he would only believe what he was now hearing, he would go to Heaven there to enjoy glory and eternal rest, but that, if he would not, he would be consigned to Hell, where he would endure everlasting pain and torment. The lord Hatuey thought for a short while and then asked the friar whether Christians went to Heaven. When the reply came that good ones do, he retorted, without need for further reflection, that, if that was the case, then he chose to go to Hell to ensure that he would never again have to clap eyes on those cruel brutes. This is just one example of the reputation and honour that our Lord and our Christian faith have earned as a result of the actions of those ‘Christians’ who have sailed to the Americas.
On one occasion, when the locals had come some ten leagues out from a large settlement in order to receive us and regale us with victuals and other gifts, and had given us loaves and fishes and any other foodstuffs they could provide, the Christians were suddenly inspired by the Devil and, without the slightest provocation, butchered, before my eyes, some three thousand souls – men, women and children – as they sat there in front of us. I saw that day atrocities more terrible than any living man has ever seen nor ever thought to see.
Only a few days later, with the whole island still reeling at news of this massacre and acting on assurances I obtained from our commander, I sent messages to all the nobles of Havana province, as they had all heard of me and knew I could be trusted, assuring them that there was no reason to be afraid and that no harm would befall them if they came to meet us. When we arrived in the province, twenty-one local lords and caciques did indeed make up a welcoming party. But the commander immediately seized them, thereby breaking the promise I had given, and was all for burning them alive the very next day, saying that there was nothing wrong with doing so because, given time, they were bound to do something that merited such punishment. I had a difficult job keeping them from the stake, but in the end they did all make good their escape.
Once all the inhabitants of this island found themselves in the same hopeless predicament as had those on Hispaniola – that is, they were either enslaved or foully murdered – some began to flee into the hills while others were in such despair that they took their own lives. Men and women hanged themselves and even strung up their own children. As a direct result of the barbarity of one Spaniard (a man I knew personally) more than two hundred locals committed suicide, countless thousands in all dying in this way.
There was one royal official on the island who, when he was allotted three hundred natives, worked them so hard that, at the end of three months, only thirty – that is to say, just one tenth of the original number – were still alive, the other two hundred and seventy having perished down the mines. Later, he received another consignment of much the same number, or even more, and he saw them off, too. The more he received, the more he killed, until eventually he himself died and the Devil took his soul.
During the three or four months I was there, more than seven thousand children died of hunger, after their parents had been shipped off to the mines, and I saw many other horrors also.
It was later decided to hunt down the natives who had fled into the mountains, and the subsequent hunting parties were responsible for carnage beyond belief. Thus it was that the whole of the island was devastated and depopulated, and it now affords, as we discovered on a recent visit, a moving and heartrending spectacle, transformed, as it has been, into one vast, barren wasteland.
QUESTIONS: (Short answers each)
What did the Taíno chief Hatuey say to the priest who spoke to him before he died?
What are some of the abuses that las Casas documents in this excerpt?
How does de las Casas feel about the Spaniards’ representation of Christianity?
According to Hatuey, who is the god of the Christians?

Ben Healy’s essay, ” Gossip is Good.”
Word on the street is that gossip is the worst. An Ann Landers advice column once characterized it as “the faceless demon that breaks hearts and ruins careers.” The Talmud describes it as a “three-pronged tongue” that kills three people: the teller, the listener, and the person being gossiped about. And Blaise Pascal observed, not unreasonably, that “if people really knew what others said about them, there would not be four friends left in the world.” Convincing as these indictments seem, however, a significant body of research suggests that gossip may in fact be healthy.
It’s a good thing, too, since gossip is pretty pervasive. Children tend to be seasoned gossips by the age of 5, [1] and gossip as most researchers understand it—talk between at least two people about absent others—accounts for about two-thirds of conversation. [2] In the 1980s, the journalist Blythe Holbrooke took a stab at bringing rigor to the subject, tongue firmly in cheek, by positing the Law of Inverse Accuracy:
C
= (
TI
)
^v
–
t
, in which the likelihood of gossip being circulated (
C
) equals its timeliness (
T
) times its interest (
I
) to the power of its unverifiability (
v
) minus the reluctance someone might feel about repeating it out of taste (
t
). [3]
Despite gossip’s dodgy reputation, a surprisingly small share of it—as little as 3 to 4 percent—is actually malicious. [4] And even that portion can bring people together. Researchers at the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma found that if two people share negative feelings about a third person, they are likely to feel closer to each other than they would if they both felt positively about him or her. [5]
Gossip may even make us better people. A team of Dutch researchers reported that hearing gossip about others made research subjects more reflective; positive gossip inspired self-improvement efforts, and negative gossip made people prouder of themselves. [6] In another study, the worse participants felt upon hearing a piece of negative gossip, the more likely they were to say they had learned a lesson from it. [7] Negative gossip can also have a prosocial effect on those who are gossiped about. Researchers at Stanford and UC Berkeley found that once people were ostracized from a group due to reputed selfishness, they reformed their ways in an attempt to regain the approval of the people they had alienated. [8]
By far the most positive assessment of gossip, though, comes courtesy of the anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar. Once upon a time, in Dunbar’s account, our primate ancestors bonded through grooming, their mutual back-scratching ensuring mutual self-defense in the event of attack by predators. But as hominids grew more intelligent and more social, their groups became too large to unite by grooming alone. That’s where language—and gossip, broadly defined—stepped in. [9] Dunbar argues that idle chatter with and about others gave early humans a sense of shared identity and helped them grow more aware of their environment, thus incubating the complex higher functioning that would ultimately yield such glories of civilization as the Talmud, Pascal, and Ann Landers.
So the next time you’re tempted to dish the dirt, fear not—you may actually be promoting cooperation, boosting others’ self-esteem, and performing the essential task of the human family. That is what I heard, anyway.
Please read the essay above and answer the following question.
1)   Does Healy have a THESIS? Where, if at all, does he state his main idea? What seems to be his OURPOSE in writing?
2)   What is the “Law of Inverse Accuracy (par.2)? Is it a real academic theory? why does Healy cite it?
3)   Although Healy offers details about most of the sources he cites, he mentions others- Ann Landers, the Talmud, Blaise Pascal- without explaining who or what they are. Why? What assumption does he make about his readers’ interests and knowledge? Must one be familiar with the particulars of the texts Healy reference to understand his point?

HER CODE GOT HUMANS ON THE MOON – AND INVENTED SOFTWARE ITSELF.
Margaret Hamilton wasn’t supposed to invent the modern concept of software and land men on the moon. It was 1960, not a time when women were encouraged to seek out high-powered technical work. Hamilton, a 24-year-old with an undergrad degree in mathematics, had gotten a job as a programmer at MIT, and the plan was for her to support her husband through his three-year stint at Harvard Law. After that, it would be her turn — she wanted a graduate degree in math. But the Apollo space program came along. And Hamilton stayed in the lab to lead an epic feat of engineering that would help change the future of what was humanly — and digitally — possible. As a working mother in the 1960s, Hamilton was unusual; but as a spaceship programmer, Hamilton was positively radical.1 Hamilton would bring her daughter Lauren by the lab on weekends and evenings. While 4-year-old Lauren slept on the floor of the office overlooking the Charles River, her mother programmed away, creating routines that would ultimately be added to the Apollo’s command module computer. “People used to say to me, ‘How can you leave your daughter? How can you do this?’” Hamilton remembers. But she loved the arcane2 novelty of her job. She liked the camaraderie — the after-work drinks at the MIT faculty club; the geek jokes, like saying she was “going to branch left minus” around the hallway. Outsiders didn’t have a clue. But at the lab, she says, “I was one of the guys.”
Then, as now, “the guys” dominated tech and engineering. Like female coders in today’s diversity-challenged tech industry, Hamilton was an outlier.3 It might surprise today’s software makers that one of the founding fathers of their boys’ club was, in fact, a mother — and that should give them pause as they consider why the gender inequality of the Mad Men4 era persists to this day. ‘When I first got into it, nobody knew what it was that we were doing. It was like the Wild West.’ — Margaret Hamilton As Hamilton’s career got under way, the software world was on the verge of a giant leap, thanks to the Apollo program launched by John F. Kennedy in 1961. At the MIT Instrumentation Lab where Hamilton worked, she and her colleagues were inventing core ideas in computer programming as they wrote the code for the world’s first portable computer. She became an expert in systems programming and won important technical arguments. “When I first got into it, nobody knew what it was that we were doing. It was like the Wild West. There was no course in it. They didn’t teach it,” Hamilton says. This was a decade before Microsoft and nearly 50 years before Marc Andreessen5 would observe that software is, in fact, “eating the world.” The world didn’t think much at all about software back in the early Apollo days. The original document laying out the engineering requirements of the Apollo mission didn’t even mention the word software, MIT aeronautics professor David Mindell writes in his book Digital Apollo. “Software was not included in the schedule, and it was not included in the budget.” Not at first, anyhow. But as the Apollo project unfolded, the centrality of software in accomplishing the mission started to become clear. In 1965, Hamilton became responsible for the onboard flight software on the Apollo computers. It was an exciting time, and the US was depending on the work that she was doing. But sometimes the pressure kept Hamilton up at night. Once, after a late-night party, she rushed back to the computer lab to correct a piece of code she’d suddenly realized was flawed. “I was always imagining headlines in the newspapers, and they would point back to how it happened, and it would point back to me.” By mid-1968, more than 400 people were working on Apollo’s software, because software was how the US was going to win the race to the moon. As it turned out, of course, software was going to help the world do so much more. As Hamilton and her colleagues were programming the Apollo spacecraft, they were also hatching what would become a $400 billion industry. For Hamilton, programming meant punching holes in stacks of punch cards, which would be processed overnight in batches on a giant Honeywell mainframe computer that simulated the Apollo lander’s work. “We had to simulate everything before it flew,” Hamilton remembers. Once the code was solid, it would be shipped off to a nearby Raytheon facility where a group of women, expert seamstresses known to the Apollo program as the “Little Old Ladies,” threaded copper wires through magnetic rings (a wire going through a core was a 1; a wire going around the core was a 0). Forget about RAM or disk drives;6 on Apollo, memory was literally hardwired and very nearly indestructible.
Apollo flights carried two near-identical machines: one used in the lunar module — the Eagle that landed on the moon — and the other for the command module that carried the astronauts to and from Earth. These 70-pound Apollo computers were portable computers unlike any other. Conceived by MIT engineers such as Hal Laning and Hamilton’s boss, Dick Batton, it was one of the first important computers to use integrated circuits rather than transistors.7 As Mindell tells the story, it was the first computerized onboard navigation system designed to be operated by humans but with “fly-by-wire” autopilot technology — a precursor8 to the computerized navigation systems that are now standard on jetliners. The system stored more than 12,000 “words” in its permanent memory — the copper “ropes” threaded by the Raytheon workers — and had 1,024 words in its temporary, erasable memory. “It was the first time that an important computer had been in a spacecraft and given a lot of responsibility for the mission,” says Don Eyles, who worked on the lunar module code while at MIT’s IL. “We showed that that could be done. We did it in what today seems an incredibly small amount of memory and very slow computation speed.” Without it, Neil Armstrong wouldn’t have made it to the moon. And without the software written by Hamilton, Eyles, and the team of MIT engineers, the computer would have been a dud. This became clear on July 20, 1969, just minutes before Apollo 11 touched down on the Sea of Tranquility. Because of what Apollo software engineer Don Eyles has termed a “documentation error,” the Apollo computer started spitting out worrying error messages during this critical phase of the mission. But here’s where the technical arguments won by Hamilton and others saved the day. The error messages were popping up because the computer was being overwhelmed, tasked with doing a series of unnecessary calculations when, in fact, it was most needed to land the module on the surface of the moon. Back in Houston, engineers knew that because of Apollo’s unique asynchronous9 processing, the computer would focus on the task at hand — landing the Eagle on the Sea of Tranquility. When the software realized it didn’t have enough room to do all the functions it was supposed to be doing, it went through its error detection process and focused on the highest priority job, Hamilton says. ‘That would never happen’ One day, Lauren was playing with the MIT command module simulator’s display-and-keyboard unit, nicknamed the DSKY (dis-key). As she toyed with the keyboard, an error message popped up. Lauren had crashed the simulator by somehow launching a prelaunch program called P01 while the simulator was in midflight. There was no reason an astronaut would ever do this, but nonetheless, Hamilton wanted to add code to prevent the crash. That idea was overruled by NASA. “We had been told many times that astronauts would not make any mistakes,” she says. “They were trained to be perfect.” So instead, Hamilton created a program note — an addon to the program’s documentation that would be available to NASA engineers and the astronauts: “Do not select P01 during flight,” it said. Hamilton wanted to add error-checking code to the Apollo system that would prevent this from messing up the systems. But that seemed excessive to her higher-ups. “Everyone said, ‘That would never happen,’” Hamilton remembers.
But it did. Right around Christmas 1968 — five days into the historic Apollo 8 flight, which brought astronauts to the moon for the first-ever manned orbit — the astronaut Jim Lovell inadvertently10 selected P01 during flight. Hamilton was in the second-floor conference room at the Instrumentation Laboratory when the call came in from Houston. Launching the P01 program had wiped out all the navigation data Lovell had been collecting. That was a problem. Without that data, the Apollo computer wouldn’t be able to figure out how to get the astronauts home. Hamilton and the MIT coders needed to come up with a fix; and it needed to be perfect. After spending nine hours poring through the 8-inch-thick program listing on the table in front of them, they had a plan. Houston would upload new navigational data. Everything was going to be OK. Thanks to Hamilton — and Lauren — the Apollo astronauts came home. Also thanks to Hamilton and the work she led, notions of what humanity could do, and be, changed not just beyond the stratosphere11 but also here on the ground. Software engineering, a concept Hamilton pioneered, has found its way from the moon landing to nearly every human endeavor. By the 1970s, Hamilton had moved on from NASA and the Apollo program. She went on to found and lead multiple software companies. Today her company, Hamilton Technologies, is just a few blocks away from MIT, where her career began — a hub of the code revolution that’s still looking toward the stars.
1. PART A: Which TWO statements express the central ideas of the text?
A. Hamilton developed important software that was integral to landing astronauts on the moon and returning them safely to Earth.
B. During Hamilton’s time working with NASA, her ideas and suggestions weren’t taken seriously because of her gender.
C. The coding that Hamilton took part in on the Apollo program established software engineering, a necessary branch of computer science.
D. NASA experienced several technical difficulties during their flight because of their failure to accept the importance of software engineering.
E. Hamilton’s work at NASA showed them how easily human error can occur and the importance of relying on technology. F. The coding that Hamilton developed during the Apollo program continues to be used today to guide NASA’s crafts.
2. PART B: Which TWO details from the text best support the answers to Part A?
A. “Then, as now, ‘the guys’ dominated tech and engineering. Like female coders in today’s diversity-challenged tech industry, Hamilton was an outlier.” (Paragraph 5)
B. “‘Software was not included in the schedule, and it was not included in the budget.’ Not at first, anyhow.” (Paragraph 8)
C. “Once the code was solid, it would be shipped off to a nearby Raytheon facility where a group of women, expert seamstresses known to the Apollo program as the ‘Little Old Ladies’” (Paragraph 11)
D. “Without it, Neil Armstrong wouldn’t have made it to the moon. And without the software written by Hamilton, Eyles, and the team of MIT engineers, the computer would have been a dud.” (Paragraph 13)
E. “Launching the P01 program had wiped out all the navigation data Lovell had been collecting. That was a problem.” (Paragraph 16)
F. “Software engineering, a concept Hamilton pioneered, has found its way from the moon landing to nearly every human endeavor.” (Paragraph 17)
3. According to the text, how did NASA’s understanding of software engineering develop over time?
A. NASA came to view software as merely a backup plan if something went wrong rather than a necessary part of space travel.
B. NASA grew to understand the importance of software engineering in the Apollo missions over time.
C. NASA understood the necessary role that software played in the Apollo missions from the beginning.
D. NASA learned over time that astronauts were prone to error while software never malfunctioned.
4. How does paragraph 14 contribute to the development of ideas in the text?
A. It shows how software was able to prevent potential problems during flights.
B. It emphasizes how landing was the most dangerous time of space travel.
C. It stresses how basic computers were and how likely they were to experience errors.
D. It shows how NASA didn’t understand the importance of Apollo software.
5. What is the relationship between women’s contributions to and the success of the Apollo program? Cite evidence from the text in your response.

A Sample Synthesis Essay
Following is a brief synthesis essay about the influence of technology on human intelligence that incorporates severral sources the student read. Note how the viewpoint expressed in the thesis statement remains central, with sources supplementing and supporting that view.
“Is Technology Making Us Dumber?”
By Noah Chapman
From crude stone tools, to the printing press, to the smartphone, humans have been creating new technologies since the beginning of our existence. We’re constantly creating new technologies to improve our lives, but there have always been doubters predicting that the changes would bring destruction. However, these technologies are simply tools, and the result depends on how we use them. A hammer can be used to knock in a skull or to build a home — the hammer itself is neither good nor bad. New technologies, particularly the Internet, have the power to make us smarter if we use them to broaden our worldview and engage with complex materials, but moderate the time spent on them.
Technology will increase human intelligence only if we use it to expand our connection to the world. The Internet allows us to converse with almost anyone, on any topic, at any time; people on different sides of the world can discuss and learn together almost instantly. Appropriate use of social media exposes people to “a lot of new, useful things to think about — serendipitous stories, insights from others” (Agger). However good judgement is necessary for these interactions to be productive. Time spent on social media could result in users “contract[ing] their horizon to themselves, to the social scene around them” (Bauerlein). Instead of expanding our connection to the world, we’ve only expanded our connection to ourselves. There are some corners of the Internet that could do even worse damage, sites advocating white supremacy and forums radicalizing young teens. Internet interactions can lead to positive and enlightening discussion, or it can be limiting and damaging.
Because the Internet has changed how we research and find information, technology can either increase access to interesting and complex materials or restrict our intake to simplistic information bites. The Internet allows users to access, often for free, books, scholarly articles, and research at the click of a button. These materials help people learn things from sources they may not have been able to find in a physical library. However, tools like search engines and Ctrl+F also allow us to pass over some of the richness and nuance in these texts to get to the sound byte we want. Reading used to be a hunt for knowledge, not a search for a simple one-sentence summary. We have to choose to delve more deeply into the texts we read. But as Carr points out, Internet searches may give people “an ‘illusion of knowledge’” rather than any deep understanding of complex issues. Because researching on the Internet can lead to “searchers’ overconfidence in assessing their smarts,” people are even less likely to attempt to deepen their knowledge. In fact, Carr reports that some studies show that when people research on the Internet, their retention of information decreases since they assume they can look up that same information again with speed and ease. Thus, using the tools technology provides to research can lead to limited and simplistic results or a plethora of rich and complex ideas.
One of the main challenges of technology is moderating our contact with it. Despite the many useful tools technology offers, overuse can lead to a number of problems. The first of which is changes in the brain itself: “MRI research has shown that the brains of Internet users who have trouble controlling their craving to be constantly plugged-in exhibit changes similar to those seen in people addicted to drugs and alcohol” (Howard). Addicts can even experience withdrawal symptoms when avoiding Internet use. However, Internet use does not always spell bad news for the brain “in moderation, the Internet can actually boost brain function” and “stimulate neural activity patterns” (Howard). Especially for older adults, technology use is a new skill, and learning it boosts intelligence. Even younger users develop new skills as software changes and develops, and with it the way it’s used. Internet use is a balancing act, using it enough to boost brain function, but moderating use enough to avoid addiction.
Despite the fear and finger-pointing, it is not the technology itself that lowers human intelligence, but the choices we make when engaging with it. The vast resources made available by the Internet can serve to either widen our view of the world, or to support our existing narrow ideas. We can choose to lessen our cognitive abilities by searching for only surface level answers, or we can take the time to engage with the complexities of language. We can increase our brain function through use of technology or fry our brains when we spend too much time using it. It’s by making these choices to use technology purposefully and appropriately that technology becomes a tool for good in our lives.
Please answer the following questions…
The essay opens with an analogy. How effectively does this engage the reader and lead into the writer’s thesis?
In the second paragraph, the writer acknowledges a counterargument. How does this concession and refutation help develop her argument?
Identify one place where the writer’s use of a source is particularly successful and one instance that could be improved. In each case, explain your response. What changes would you recommend the writer make to use sources more effectively in her next draft?
What do you see as the greatest strength of this essay? Explain your response.
What is the best suggestion you can offer the writer to improve the effectiveness of her argument?
Imagine that, for the next draft of this essay, the writer must replace one of the sources. Which source should she replace, and why? What source would you recommend she use in its place?