google makes you smart

today was the annual Jeopardy! online qualification test. i took the test last year, but seeing as i've yet to be a participant on the show, i'm guessing i didn't do very well. or maybe i did? the selection process after the test is random, so i might have just been unlucky.

the test itself is quite simple. they basically ask you a question and you have fifteen seconds to come up with a response. the test consists of fifty trivia questions, and based on your test results, the show will randomly select you for an in-person interview.

now, i don't know if you've ever watched Jeopardy! around me, but sometimes i kick ass. if there's a sports or a literature category, it's game over. but a lot of times, they ask inane questions about things like opera and modern economics, things of which i'm unfamiliar beyond the very basics. so the test is quite a challenge for me, it really is.

so i cheated. all i had to do was google the question and find the answer within fifteen seconds. i can confidently say i knew the answer to about thirty questions on my own, and i used google for about an additional ten. a few i couldn't find the answers to, probably because my query was too vague, and a few i ran out of time because i kept on making typos in the search. but overall, i think i did pretty well.

my point is, though, that anybody with internet access is smart. google will tell you anything you want to know at the click of a button. twenty years ago, i was amazed by the fact that mario would jump on my tv at the click of a button. it's great how technology has enabled us to become socially secluded geniuses while still being "connected" to everyone. i'm not so sure if this is a good thing.