Sources

http://www.published-articles.com/Art/73727/370/Racism-in-Today-s-Society.html

http://race.eserver.org/fight-against-racism-today.html

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,980453,00.html

Mascot Response

The potential research question that the author most likely started prior to this research was “Are mascots that represent Native American tribes offensive to their culture and ethnicity?”  This article talks about how Native American mascots at various colleges bring up a controversial issue because a lot of times the schools don’t know the history or origin of the tribe, they just use it as their mascot name.  The purpose of this article is to address this problem and to bring up the point so that it will make people think about it.  His research helps him to back up his point because he has a lot of good points and it really makes the reader think about the issue.  A lot of people would have never even thought twice about a mascot posing a problem but the research he uses to back up his claims really helps to make the reader think about the problem and consider their stand on the issue.  I really found it interesting reading about the class that Florida State offers about the history of the Seminoles.  The questions that the teacher says that he brings up in class such as “What is it inside of us that makes us identify ourselves one way or another?” or “What external factors play into identity?” really help to reinstate the author’s point that this is something that we really should think about.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

No, I do not think the Internet is making us stupid.  Carr’s main argument is that our society has deviated from reading books and we are relying too much on the Internet to get information.  As he states on page three of the text, "our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged."  This statement is one which I feel can be easily contradicted.  What Carr is not taking into consideration here is the fact that not everyone reads books and finds pleasure in making connections with literature. Communicating with others is one of the best ways that a person can engage and learn.  Books aren’t necessary to learn many of the key things we need to know in life.  Carr needs to realize that times have changed-the Internet is actually a sign of our intelligence, and shouldn’t we be allowed to use this resource?  Google is definitely not making us stupid. What Google and the Internet are doing is helping us reclaim our natural human instinct of learning through a rapid exchange of ideas in a social setting. Talking with others and engaging in communication is so much more beneficial than sitting down by yourself and reading a book.  The Internet is just another way of accomplishing this human need of conversation.  Google is really just making us smarter because it is helping us discover new ways of learning.