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Review
The best book I read last year and by best I really just mean the book that made the strongest impression on me was The Shallows, by Nicholas Carr. Like most people, I had some strong intuitions about how my life and the world have been changing in response to the Internet. But I could neither put those intuitions into an argument, nor be sure that they had any basis in the first place. Carr persuasively and with great subtlety and beauty makes the case that it is not only the content of our thoughts that are radically altered by phones and computers, but the structure of our brains our ability to have certain kinds of thoughts and experiences. And the kinds of thoughts and experiences at stake are those that have defined our humanity. Carr is not a proselytizer, and he is no techno-troglodyte. He is a profoundly sharp thinker and writer equal parts journalist, psychologist, popular science writer, and philosopher. I have not only given this book to numerous friends, I actually changed
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"Is Google making us stupid?" When Nicholas Carr posed that question, in a celebrated Atlantic Monthly cover story, he tapped into a well of anxiety about how the Internet is changing us. He also crystallized one of the most important debates of our time: As we enjoy the Net's bounties, are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply? Now, Carr expands his argument into the most compelling exploration of the Internet's intellectual and cultural consequences yet published. As he describes how human thought has been shaped through the centuries by "tools of the mind"--from the alphabet to maps, to the printing press, the clock, and the computer--Carr interweaves a fascinating account of recent discoveries in neuroscience by such pioneers as Michael Merzenich and Eric Kandel. Our brains, the historical and scientific evidence reveals, change in response to our experiences. The technologies we use to find, store, and share information can literally reroute our neural pathways. Building on the insights of thinkers from Plato to McLuhan, Carr makes a convincing case that every information technology carries an intellectual ethic--a set of assumptions about the nature of knowledge and intelligence. He explains how the printed book served to focus our attention, promoting deep and creative thought. In stark contrast, the Internet encourages the rapid, distracted sampling of small bits of information from many sources. Its ethic is that of the industrialist, an ethic of speed and efficiency, of optimized production and consumption--and now the Net is remaking us in its own image. We are becoming ever more adept at scanning and skimming, but what we are losing is our capacity for concentration, contemplation, and reflection. Part intellectual history, part popular science, and part cultural criticism, The Shallows sparkles with memorable vignettes--Friedrich Nietzsche wrestling with a typewriter, Sigmund Freud dissecting the brains of sea creatures, Nathaniel Hawthorne contemplating the thunderous approach of a steam locomotive--even as it plumbs profound questions about the state of our modern psyche. This is a book that will forever alter the way we think about media and our minds.
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Most helpful customer reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
`Everywhere you look, you see signs of the Net's hegemony over the packaging and flow of information.',
By J. Cameron-Smith "Expect the Unexpected" (ACT, Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Shallows (Hardcover)
Is our constant exposure to electronic stimuli good for us? Can we transform the data we receive into the knowledge we need? Are we swapping deep understanding for shallow distractions?In this book, Nicholas Carr argues that our constant exposure to multiple and faster data streams is changing the way our brains are wired. This change, which is due to the inherent plasticity of the brain, tends to reduce our capacity to absorb and retain what we read. Mr Carr cites a number of different studies to support his views, and the book makes for interesting reading. Mr Carr acknowledges that the digital world brings both advantage and disadvantage: `Every tool imposes limitations even as it opens possibilities.' The Internet is a wonderful tool for finding information, but value usually requires some analysis, and often requires a context which is not always immediately obvious. How do we find a balance between those aspects of life that require self-awareness, time and careful consideration, and those aspects of life where an automatic (or semi automatic) response is more appropriate and perhaps even required? Do we understand what choices we have, or are we responding in line with the immediacy of the medium we are using? Are we consumers of data or evaluators of information? Does it matter? I think it does: `The more distracted we become, the less able we are to experience the subtlest, most distinctly human forms of empathy, compassion, and emotion.' The most valuable aspect of this book, to me, was thinking about the short and long term consequences of the Internet. Those of us who grew to adulthood before the Internet shaped the way we work and communicate have (to varying degrees) embraced the benefits and new possibilities afforded. A return to the past is neither possible nor desirable - but conscious choice is both. Jennifer Cameron-Smith
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb book on the history of thought processes,
By
This review is from: The Shallows (Hardcover)
Why aren't there more reviews of this book? Nicholas Carr's book is less to do with the internet, and more to do with how human thinking has evolved with the development of new communication technologies -- I picked it up because largely because of perverse pleasure in reading articles that bash the dumbing-down qualities of the internet, but it turned out to be a very well-balanced, well-argued, and ultimately frightening book about how even educated adult brains can be moulded to fit the ADD-multitask thought process made possible (and encouraged) by the internet. If you're wondering why you can't seem to type out a paragraph without simultaneously checking the Huffington Post, listening to a song on YouTube, watching a video on Failblog (or Cuteoverload, whichever your drug is), then this book will solve the mystery for you.And while it solves no problems, it will make you more aware of what you are doing to yourself.
4.0 out of 5 stars
An insightful and interesting read,
By
This review is from: The Shallows (Paperback)
An insightful and interesting read on how our brains work and how the internet is changing how we comprehend, understand and learn. Carr questions our pursuit of ever more user friendly interfaces. As we cede more of our thinking and understanding to technology, are we diminishing our own cognitive abilities?
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