Emma Dean

Erin Rogers

Writing 2010

7 February 2017

Rhetorical Analysis

As the internet pervades everyday-life and becomes a staple of the modern world, one has

to wonder what kind of effects it has on its users. Writer Nicholas Carr explores this idea and

raises important questions in his article Is Google Making Us Stupid?, published in 2008 in

The Atlantic. Carr argues that the internet has changed the way people think and read: where

once we allowed ourselves time to absorb and contemplate meaning and language, we now

search for quick access of information, jumping from one thing to another. Carr effectively

employs rhetorical devices like ethos, logos, and pathos to strengthen his argument.

Throughout the article, Carr uses ethos by citing a variety of people: University

professors, developmental psychologists, computer scientists, historians, and even the likes of

Nietzsche and Socrates all of whom are professionals in their fields. Quoting and

paraphrasing ideas from these strong sources builds on Carrs own reliability as it tells readers

that the author did his homework and is serious about bringing only legitimate opinions to the

table. Somehow Carr is able to utilize this diverse group to tell a seamless story about a focused

topic; he does not once lose track of his subject. Furthermore, Carrs language is very

professional and concise. An example of this is when he says, The kind of deep reading that a

sequence of printed pages promotes is valuable not just for the knowledge we acquire from the

authors words but for the intellectual vibrations those words set off within our own minds.

Even though he is describing something very hard to put into words, as a reader, I knew exactly
what he was talking about. In that same paragraph, Carr addresses a counter-argument: that

perhaps he is too skeptical of the internet and is not fully considering all the benefits that it

brings. This presents him as someone who considers alternatives and doesnt try to sweep

anything under the rug. All of these approaches combined gives the reader a sense of Nicholas

Carrs commitment to his writing and the high standards the author holds himself to, thereby

lending well-deserved credibility.

In addition to ethos, Nicholas Carr strengthens his argument with logos. In argumentative

writing like Is Google Making Us Stupid?, logos is especially important in getting the point

across, and not enough of it can weaken the authors case. Fortunately Carr infuses his writing

with plenty of logos, particularly reasoning. In the beginning of the article, Carr presents his

readers with a theory (that he cant read like he used to because of his extensive use of the

internet) that is later followed up by his reasons and enforced with evidence. This layout is

logical and makes Carrs arguments easy to identify. One such example of reasoning is when

Carr looked at experiments performed to assess the cognitive differences between reading

ideograms and alphabets. The findings of the experiment pointed to differences in the neural

circuits of ideogram readers and alphabet readers, leading Carr to the speculation that reading on

the internet can also change the way we think. It is easy to follow Carrs train of thought, and we

can see that his conjecture is well-founded and plausible. Another way Carr uses logos is through

historical analogy. Carr compares the far-reaching effects of the mechanical clock and the

internet, using the example of someone in the 14th century describing their brain operating like

clockwork and much later now, someone describing their brain operating like computers.

Analogies alone cannot justify an argument, but paired with other forms of logos, they can
encourage readers to make connections they ordinarily wouldnt make, or in this case, they can

serve as a valuable tool for predicting aspects of the future based on events in the past.

Last but not least, Carr uses pathos. The article opens with a scene from the movie A

Space Odyssey. Carr paints a picture of astronaut Bowman disassembling the supercomputer

HAL, including the emotional pleas of HAL who cries that his mind is going. Using words like

poignant and forlornly creates a sympathetic image and makes the reader invested in the

story. It is an effective hook but still manages to open up the wider discussion about the effects of

internet on cognition. Even though his tone is formal, Carr still shows hints of his personality and

voice in his writing. This is apparent when he complains about losing his concentration while

reading: I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if Im

always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. This passage was very relatable to me, as

Im sure it was for a lot of other readers. When an author is able to connect with his/her readers,

it tells them that the author is in fact human, and this introduces whole other dimension to the

writing the result of which can be very impactful. Carr also creates a sense of nostalgia for the

days before the internet by sharing testimonials from people who used to be avid readers but

arent anymore. One such person admitted that he cant read War and Peace anymore. Another

says he used to be a lit major and a voracious book reader. Carr clearly understands that this is

a common struggle, and by sharing these personal accounts, he is transporting the reader back to

the good old days of simple, pleasurable reading.

Ethos, logos, and pathos are all useful rhetorical devices that can enhance writing and

make an argument. In the article Is Google Making Us Stupid?, Author Nicholas Carr varies

his usage of these rhetorical devices and does so in a manner that is both engaging and adds to

his argument. The question of whether google, or rather the internet, makes us stupid is
ultimately left to the audience to decide as Carr does not give us a definitive answer. The author

using ethos, logos, and pathos tries to sway readers into agreeing with him, but in the end,

he acknowledges that this question is far more complex than we may ever know.
 Works Cited

Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, Aug.

2008. Web. 7 February. 2017.