Google's Impact on Learning and Innovation: A Psychological

Learning

Often learning is seen as a cumulative process, knowledge accumulates while learning.

Yet a master cannot perceive reality through the eyes of an apprentice.

Previous knowledge is simply not there anymore.

They have changed, both knowledge and the master.

Thus, learning is about surrendering earlier knowledge and accepting new.

If anything learning is change.

Do we get what we want?

Do you like NetFlix movies - I know I don’t.

I prefer IndieFlix movies much more.

But most people prefer NetFlix movies.

In learning shared sources of information bring shared perception.

Shared perception increases cohesion in a group.

Increased cohesion reduces creativity.

Change requires errors, a continuous flow of errors.

When someone changes behaviour, errors in expectations are unavoidable.

When we interpret reality, errors are unavoidable (in form of disharmony of interpretations).

When we learn, we have to try out alternatives, errors are bound to happen.

Thus, through errors we learn and errors give rise to a continuous flux of change.

If Google is the mediator who provides us links to information, most will encounter same information.

Same information will create shared knowledge.

Shared knowledge is often seen as beneficial in organisations.

But it also obstructs pluralism of thinking.

Reduced pluralism hinders creativity.

Reduced creativity brings evenly rotating organisations.

Evenly rotating organisations lose connection to non-permanent reality.

Innovation: a dual concept

Google provides mass customised search results.

Mass customisation algorithms are created by the behaviour of masses.

Google assumes that your particular desires follow those whose beholders clicked the same button than you did.

Google hits direct and guide choice options received by any given searcher.

Innovation may require alertness and creativity: new product, new solution.

It also manifests itself in forms of imitation and copying: bringing an established product into a new stable market.

Google from the perspective of the mind

Google's Impact on Learning and Innovation:

A Psychological Approach

Google enhances innovation in its imitative form.

Whatever exists becomes shared based on popularity.

But it also reduces pluralism and creativity.

We teach our minds to accept easy access to sugar instead of reward by taxing effort itself.

Dr. Jukka Kaisla

Homepage is easy to find by googling.

Remedy

Students submit increasingly similar course assignments.

Even when they should provide personal applications.

Students are not learning as such, they are transferring and reorganising information.

These non-learning activities do not prepare students for independent and creative thinking.

We need to discover remedies to promote learning and critical thinking among students.

An example of this is:

One Page Method

that focuses on the functioning of the mind and helps students through critical thinking create their personal perception and knowledge (at my homepage).

Internet is less useful without ways of searching and selecting information.

Search engine does not require the dynamic of critical mass - multiple alternatives can coexist.

If a particular search engine becomes selected as a dominant alternative, it needs to resolve search and selection problems better than the rest.

They don't

Google becomes selected

Algorithms are trade secrets.

Users have to rely on getting access to relevant information through Google - and they do rely because it appears to work.

Internet users seem to prefer Google’s algorithms.

How does Google work?

How do users know what type of algorithms Google is actually using?