Salomon Says: The Great Google Rebellion

I think with all the struggles one has to face today, google away. Save the real effort for the important things like how to keep Israel safe, stop hatred, bring on world peace, teach loving kindness and giving. Once the world had to work so hard just to survive and learn, now we don't. Let's take that energy that googling saves us and apply it to the REAL problems.

I still value having learned to use a slide rule and diagram sentences. Now I enjoy toiling to write a cohesive document that make a clear point and toiling to speak in a way that makes an important point clear (D'var Torah for example). I think we should remember some tools that have brought coherence to our mundane physical life in areas of science, Torah, language, math, even woodworking, and home economics, etc. Maybe we should still learn to use a slide rule (an incredible device) and diagram sentences. I think we should also all go to yeshiva and formally debate halacha, structure cohesive papers, learn Hebrew (and English), and present deep words of Torah. It's not as much where and how we find information, it's how we discern, sift, and make use of it. I hadn't thought of whether it's good to remember the Dewey Decimal system and card catalogues in order to go through library stacks finding sentences in books to quote. It sounds like a good museum experience by now.

if the answers are provided and they are easy to get using a computer...make the questions more difficult and time consuming to answer...with questions that ask why did you say this and how step by step did you get to the answer...just a thought...

Indeed the Internet, and its search engine capability in particular, is fraught with dangers of instant exposure to all the trash and charlatanism the world has to offer, information-overload, and dependence upon "sound bites" as opposed to honest, in-depth thought and analysis. But the specific issue addressed by Rav Salomon, of lazily letting the tool do the work, is, I feel a misread of the situation. We should not look to limit the tool, but broaden our own horizons of accomplishment in its use. Yes, what is the big deal about arithmetic when you have a calculator. Well, for one thing, how about giving even the grade schooler the pride of doing some real-world engineering problems -- things with decimal points, etc. And indeed, this seems to have become a trend. To conclude with a more spiritual analogy. I understand that the third Rebbe of Chabad, the Tzemach Tzedek, was offered a very special Bar Mitzvah gift by his grandfather, the Alter Rebbe. This was to receive his grandfather's level of Torah knowledge. The Bar Mitzvah boy took a "thanks, but no thanks" stance to the offer, stating that he wanted to work for his Torah knowledge over the years himself, and not just receive it as a gift. Upon reaching the age that his grandfather had been then, he stated that he had made a terrible mistake. He would have worked to grow just as hard, but imagine what he could have been in absolute terms had he started out with the accomplishments of his grandfather! Should we not learn from the mistake of this great teacher, and indeed seek to stand upon the shoulders of giants that we may see farther, and perceive greater horizons than even they!

There was a mediocre movie starring Julia Roberts a couple of years ago in which she plays an Art History teacher at, I believe, Wellesley. When she shows up on the first day prepared to lecture about who painted what painting, she discovers that hear over achieving students have already read and memorized the entire text. What's a girl to do?

She did the right thing: She started asking questions that assumed basic knowledge but still required critical thinking. Rather than "Who painted this painting," or "What years did this painter live," she asked "What defines art," and "What defines good art?"

There's a lot to be learned here. Teachers should assume that basic knowledge can be found and challenge themselves to challenge their students with deeper questions requiring not just knowledge but also critical thinking skills. A history teacher could ask, for example, not "What were the major causes of World War I," but "If you were put into the position of (a certain person involved), what would you have hoped to do differently to prevent World War I?"

if you think a computer is like a pencil
(a little more complex) then you got it right... Its purpose is to communicate, inform....Its used could be for good or evil.... But so can a pencil...

Growing up, I didn't have to work hard in school, and even today, I still have never really gotten into the habit of having to work too much, which is not good for me, let me tell you. Just goes to show how needed hard work is. God bless!

Just because we struggle less in some aspects (i.e. the car, fridge, sharing of information, etc.), doesn't mean that we do not have other struggles to resolve. We should take advantage of the elimination of struggles, in order to deal with other struggles new and old.
Perhaps an inherent and ironic challenge is created when life becomes "easier": To not be complacent, and leverage our capabilities to move onward and upward (i.e. use the free time to help others).

Hi Rab. Salomon,

Everything goes through a process of simplification, but there are still people who have trouble understanding the simple process. The greatest example of this is mathematics. Should we teach algebraic theory before arithmetic because algebraic theory is what leads to the algorithms that form arithmetic, but we discovered it the other way around? Should we expect everyone to skim through whole books of information they are not going to use, or try to find a source that will most likely give them that information in a simplified form?

The fact that and guy like me can come back to traditional Judaism and pay 30 years of "catch up" is amazing. What seemed to be "mystical" and out of reach because I don't know Yiddish and my Hebrew is at a first grade level is now at my fingertips. HaShem wants us to know about Him, about our religion. Why do you want to shove knowlege in a closet for only the few to study. Now, that I can Google any question I have, I can quickly elevate my base knowlege and expand my ability to learn much faster than before. So in response to your comment that students can cut and snip and make an "A" paper is good, as long as they have learned the information. Our next challenge is to discover what else they can learn now that they have learned the basics that were once out of reach.

Have we not struggled enough after 2000 years of exile, after 50 years of war in our home land since its creation in 1948? Are we not getting closer to getting out of Galout where we will have more time to pray and work much less? I understant your point of view on search engines making us more lazy in our efforts of searching information but doesn't Torah ask of our studying to be more curious or more profound? Don't you think that search engines have not only brought up easy access to the info but also to a larger variety? A search in a library, or a search on the net brings out many subjects that we had not always anticipated and therefor I believe brings us more than our share of potential knowledge. We should just learn to dig deaper than your average: "I found the answer on a website or in an article" and ask ourselves, from which book, Midrash, Rabbi, did this come from?... As an example of research, we could find the "Ashkenazi" and the "Sephardic" points of view on a subject where in a regular research, we might of only have focused on our own subject concerning the "Ashkenazi" idea. I think it's nice to know that in the speed of light we can find different sources or ideas on a same subject because of the internet.
Melina

speaking of making life easier... would it have been so difficult to READ this as an article instead of toilessly sitting back and SEEING/HEARING it? : )

...just power the computer by treadmill or stairmaster and internet use will be significantly reduced...

Using the Internet for a school research paper should be seen like using a calculator on elementary school math homework. We should teach people how to think and research before giving them automatic tools.

When information is required, make it available as the result of interactive participation.
Asks questions, require an answer, and further information is supplied as a result of the input from the enquirer

There are many wonderful databases and search engines for Judaism. See your local librarian for help. Try www.maven.co.il and www.shamash.org. Another point: Make an effort to learn Hebrew (both Biblical and contemporary) and other Jewish languages (eg. Aramaic, Yiddish). There simply is not enough material out there in English to get an in-depth perspective of Judaism. It will also help you communicate with fellow Jews throughout the world. Best of luck to you all!

I'm writing on behalf of my daughter who was listening with me. She is a college student who has to write several papers. She claims that it is not an effortless pursuit to utilize the various search engines available on the Web. Information received still has to be sifted through, paraphrased, and organized in a coherent manner. She says just because you don't have to leave your house, doesn't mean it's not work. Using the computer/Web is not an easy out--as easy as opening a book. You have to know HOW to go about searching. Some people have a natural affinity for this, while others have to actually learn how to utilize and reap the benefits of Web surfing. Thank you.

whoops a little blunder on my part the signficant date is not Nov 17 but November 11 1918 sorry for the slip - it is the armistace pact signed in a railroad car outside of Compiègne in France.

You assume that using a search engine is easier than physical research. I submit that it is not necessarily so. To do it right, requires hard work and rigorous intellectual honesty because it is possible to support almost any point of view by "skimming".

What I see happening, is an elevation of standards. In the real world, consumers of research fruits will demand more exactitude and backup: so should instructors in academic settings. Most importantly, when doing research for oneself, one can and should demand much more than would be reasonable in the traditional setting.

Will this be universal? No. It is becoming easier for those without rigorous standards to "get by". We have always had these people.

No doubt this will accelerate the bifurcation of western societies into "producers" and "consumers", as foretold by Aldous Huxley.

I suggest that the kids be required to memorize the multiplication tables and not rely on calculators, I suggest that spelling continue to be required such that the children have to keep their own dictionary of all words they have spelled incorrectly, spelled correctly under the correct letter, that writing assignments continue to be handed out where they have to use the correct punctuation, that they not be allowed to wear their ipods with their favorite tunes in class. I have issues with the quality of the books they are required to read. I think books are chosen because they have a political bent and no relationship to actual history. Books are also chosen that beat the children down. I like books that give them stories of people they can look up to and that are inspiring. There are plenty of assignments that can't be googled. I suggest more physical education because alot of time disappears sitting at the computer, and I believe in a mind body connection. I would prefer if education would stop teaching racism against white people with European inheritance and against Christians. I am writing from northern California. It is unfortunate that the testing now popular in schools is resulting in endless rote learning and endless testing, that can result in the children having no excitement about learning.

I am currently reading a book by Marjorie Garber (a Professor at Havard) titled "Shakespeare" In the foreword, Prof. Garber points out the risible effect of using Shalespearean quotesout of context, and how often that is done. The aim of those users is to produce a gravitas , but to those in the know, the result is contrary. Rabbi Solomon suggests that professors are giving A's for unconsidered works and I would submit, along with Mr. Farkas, that those teachers would be better in demanding more. The finger-cramping research of the past is gone, thanks to computers and search engines, so now what should be required is more than a list, but reasoning and extrapolation.

It's do as I say, not as I do Professor, isn't it? You use an ultramodern device, a video Blog to decry the modern research tools that students use for their studies. What exactly would you have your students do? What about scientists looking for cures for cancer, deviations in norms so minute that it would take forever to observe them? Do you require your students to submit papers on a computer? I'll bet you do? I'll bet you use one to write articles. Why not go back to mechanical devices? No, not typewriters, no, not ball point pens either. Return to writing with quills and parchment?

We are a modern society, like it or not. So, we use modern devices, and not just electronic devices, but also planes, trains and automobiles. The University of Phoenix has put many of it's required texts online so the student never handles a text book.

What should you do? Ask yourself, am I demanding enough of my students? Do I insure they learning both the facts and historical data from which the facts were derived. Teach them critical thinking skills. Then stop worrying about what research method they employed. Congratulate them for learning.

I enjoyed the video and agree with you. I personally, get a little bit of information from the search which will spark the need to find a book about what I am looking for. My spark now is to find information on woman wear Kippah daily.