Eamonn Fitzgerald's Rainy Day

If you're going to read one thing this weekend, make sure that it's Nicholas Carr's article in the Atlantic — Is Google Making Us Stupid? — on how the web is not only changing the way we gather information, but possibly altering how our minds work. Think about it: In our own time we've seen the very notion of "research" change from something that used to take considerable time in libraries or exploring archives or reading scholarly papers to just a few clicks.

But not everyone sees the big G as the incorporation of evil. The Prince of Asturias Foundation has just given its prestigious award for Communication and Humanities to the search engine because, "Google allows millions of users all over the world to access a universe of knowledge and information in a quick, well-structured way." In a global knowledge economy that's undergoing very unsettling changes, it's unsurprising that Google, given its power, is feared, but singling it out for blame is the easy option. Next year, it will be the turn of the iPhone, no doubt, to win both the Asturias prize and be accused of undermining society. Some days, it feels like we're in the Middle Ages — aware of the dark past and terrified of the bright future. Typically, a once-reputable news organization is asking "Are we living in the last century of our civilization?"

But burning witches and the banning machines couldn't stop the Industrial Revolution from happening. Didn't work then; won't now.