But the examination of the accuracy of information obtained in this manner is not a simple matter.
The one area in which the Internet could be considered an aid to thinking is the rapid acquisition of new information. ( ① )
But this is more fictional than real. ( ② )
Yes, the simple act of typing a few words into a search engine will virtually instantaneously produce links related to the topic at hand. ( ③ )
What one often gets is no more than abstract summaries of lengthy articles. ( ④ )
As a consequence, I suspect that the number of downloads of any given scientific paper has little relevance to the number of times the entire article has been read from beginning to end. ( ⑤ )
My advice is that if you want to do some serious thinking, then you’d
better disconnect the Internet, phone, and television set and try spending twenty-four
hours in absolute solitude.