When I hear about some news event, rather than think about it for days — what caused it, why would they do that, what can we do to stop it — I Google the event, read a number of news stories about it, read the Wikipedia page on anyone I’m not familiar with, and then… And then my desire to learn is sapped, and no critical thinking has happened at all. I haven’t formed a position on it, I haven’t conceptualized what happened and why, because my involvement is merely passive. I just read news articles and biographies. No true understanding is needed when all the world’s information is at your fingertips.
An Excess of Access
November 9th, 2009