• Chosen reading: “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr

            I chose Nicholas Carr’s article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” for this reflection to show my approach to active and critical thinking. In our classes, we defined active critical thinking as engaging with the text deeply by annotating the text. Through annotating the text, we can make connections, draw up questions, and challenge the authors ideas instead of just reading the article. In my work, I made sure to annotate and respond informally but in a way that aligns with these practices. While reading Carr’s article, I used different strategies to make sure I was actively engaging in the text. I highlighted key points that I found important to his argument as well as using pink to mark the sections I was going to use later in my journals and projects. Using the color helped me organize all my thoughts and helped me locate the evidence quickly when writing. Going beyond highlighting, I also used pens to write notes in the margin of the text. I would reword his ideas in my own words or expand on them by connecting to them. I was able to then connect them to the concepts talked about in class like technology’s impact on the human brain and the overall importance of deeper reading. My use of annotating showed that I was not just highlighting important information, but I was practicing interpretation and synthesis which are two major skills emphasized. I was able to mark what I wanted by focusing on the passages that either raised questions for me, or had claims that I could challenge. For example, when Carr would talk about how reading online does really affect deep thinking, I wrote questions in the margins like “Is this really true?”. These questions then demonstrated my overall ability to be able to connect relationships through texts and ideas which is a very important part of critical thinking. Overall, through questioning his arguments, and marking important information, I was able to show my growth in moving beyond the surface-level understanding of engaging with complex ideas within a reading.