Comparison of Cosmos and iGod

Nicholas Carr’s iGod and Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Cosmos have many similarities in the way that they present their topic and what their topic is. First, they both talk about science and how it can be used to either help of hurt human kind. In Cosmos, Tyson speaks about light and how it has been used throughout human history and how it was first discovered and used by the people of the time. In Carr’s iGod, he speaks more about what has happened with artificial intelligence closer to our time and how it is evolving. In his article, he discusses how a major search engine like Google first started and their goals to make knowledge and intelligence easier than ever to obtain by putting machines inside the human brain. This would allow for easy access to information and facts to every human being. Both articles also present the downfall of knowing too much information. In Cosmos, Tyson states how scholars were buried alive and books were burned because the new emperor of China wanted to prevent people from thinking. In iGod, Carr speaks about how people were terrified out the idea of having machines implanted in their brain and computers being smarter than humans. People tend to be afraid of what is unknown, which is why increasing knowledge in the world is important.

Although both articles focus on similar topics, they are not completely alike. In cosmos, Tyson is more engaged with the audience and is almost speaking down to them as if they are less than him. However, this is because the average person does not exactly know how light really works and how it was first discovered. In iGod, Carr speaks to the audience as if they already know the information which can almost be seen as a disadvantage. The audience first needs to understand the context of the words to understand the article. Carr also uses a lot more quotes from tech geniuses and notable people which assures his credibility. Tyson mainly speaks by himself and occasionally brings in some historical characters. However, his credibility is a little bit more questionable in a historical sense as he is not an expert in history. Altogether, the articles are quite similar and both serve a point to inform the reader about the technological advances in the world.